Harry Potter and the Fortress of Shadow
by TeenTypist
Summary: CHAPTER 38 NOW UP! This is a sequel to Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch. Renata. Ron's got a new extracurricular activity. Battle Ends. Was one bee's life enough to save the world? What will happen? Does our hero survive? What happened to Harry?
1. Pen Pals

Author's Note: Okay, if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch, Renata's going to seem as kind of a shock, so I thought I'd give you a quick introduction. She went to magic school in California, her mom was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in my version of Order of the Phoenix and was Lily's best friend.. Her dad was killed by Voldemort. And Renata positively rocks at Quiditch.  
  
Summer was half-over and Harry Potter sat entertaining the possibility of running away from home-not that his current location was much of a home to run from-his cousin wouldn't notice and neither would his aunt or uncle, even if they did notice they'd be grateful for it. They'd probably throw a party, if someone could convince Aunt Petunia that her house would remain spotless throughout it. Harry sighed, but Dumbledore would of course know, Dumbledore always knew. Harry could hardly wait until the school term started again. Things always got better then; or worse, depending on how you looked at it, but as far as Harry was concerned it was much better than staying with the Dursleys. Anything was better than staying with the Dursleys. Harry sat at his desk to read the letter he had just received from one of his best friends.  
  
Harry,  
Happy Birthday! How is your summer going? I hope you've  
finished your homework and haven't been flying where anyone will  
see you. Guess what? I've made Head Girl! Isn't it exciting? I  
wonder who they've chosen for Head Boy. Is it you? Percy's  
wedding ought to be interesting. Ron's the best man, did he tell  
you? I've never been to a wedding of this sort before. Only  
Muggle weddings. The package here is your present. It's a spell  
I've been working on. There're instructions inside. I'll see you  
soon.  
  
Hermione  
  
Harry opened the present the letter had come with. A note had attached instruction about how to use the "Live-Write Communication" Spell. Already things don't seem quite normal: Muggles, spells, and flying aren't normal discussion topics for most people. But Harry James Potter was by no means most people. Harry was an orphaned wizard about to embark on his seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
Harry smiled. Hermione Granger never changed. As always she was concerned with rules, regulations, and homework; but she was a great friend all the same. One of Harry's best friends as a matter of fact. So was Ron Weasly. Ron's third oldest brother Percy would be getting married this summer and Harry really hoped he could go to the wedding. He'd have to write to Ron about it. Harry turned his attention back to the package he'd been sent. Inside were a note, a bottle of green ink, a quill, and a sheaf of parchment. The note said the parchment, quill, and ink, were all specially enchanted. If he, Hermione, Renata, or Ron happened to be writing on the parchment at the same time they would be instantly writing back and forward to one another. The rest of the note explained that this was much like the private Chat Rooms on Muggle Internet systems.  
Harry knew that if he could just get through August he'd be back at Hogwarts. Harry tried not to concentrate on the fact that this would be his last year there. After Hogwarts, he didn't know what he wanted after he graduated. He shook the thought from his mind. He still had the year ahead of him so there was no reason to worry about it now. Harry looked at the quill, ink, and parchment Hermione had sent him. He wrote down, "I am here." The letter had said, wait ten minutes, if no one replies tear the paper in half and then you're no longer in the discussion.  
To Harry's surprise there was a reply almost immediately, in purple ink. "Hey, Harry, happy birthday."  
The note had said they all had different color ink so they could tell each other apart. "Hi, Renata. How's your summer going?"  
"Not bad. Yours?"  
"No worse than usual. Did you hear about Ron?"  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm best man in Percy's wedding."  
The red ink appeared directly under Harry's green. "Hi, Ron."  
"Hey, Ron."  
"Hello to you two, too. This new spell of Hermione's works great, doesn't it?"  
"Yeah."  
"Yep. When's the date again?"  
"Er-25th of August. Harry, can you get there? It'll be at the house."  
"Probably, I'll write to Sirius."  
The purple ink appeared, "You could always hitch a ride with my mom and me."  
"Thanks, I'll check with Sirius first though."  
"By the way, Harry, happy birthday. Did you get my card and present?" asked Ron.  
"Yeah, thanks, Ron."  
"You got mine, too?"  
"Uh-huh. Thanks, Renata." Harry looked over at the cards from Renata and Ron. He noticed that now only his own owl was in the room. Janus was gone, on his way home to Hermione. Harry petted Hedwig a moment before returning his attention to the paper.  
"With you two leading the team, Gryffindor oughtta do pretty good this year, huh?"  
"You think so?"  
"Of course, Harry. As long as you don't overwork the team again."  
A new color suddenly appeared on the page, blue. "Hi, everyone. Is this working okay?"  
"Yeah, great."  
"How'd you come up with this?"  
"It's sort of complicated to explain."  
"Then don't," Ron scribbled.  
"When will everyone be in Diagon Alley?"  
"Whenever I can get a ride," wrote Harry.  
"Again, if you just ask my mom or I can drive you."  
Harry was embarrassed; the Dursley's hadn't permitted him to take a driver's education course this summer, so he still didn't have a license. He could ride his godfather's flying motorcycle, but he had no way to get it. Hermione and Renata had gotten their licenses this summer, but he and Ron didn't. As wizards, they wouldn't need to drive once they learned to Apperate. But they couldn't get their Apperating licenses yet.  
"So when does everyone want to meet in Diagon Alley?" asked Hermione.  
"How's the 20th?"  
"Fine."  
  
"Sounds good."  
"Okay."  
"Listen, I've got to go. Fred and George are here. I haven't seen them in a while. I'll talk to you guys later. Write me."  
"Take care, Ron."  
"Bye."  
"I've got to go, too. My parents are taking me shopping."  
"Bye, Hermione."  
"Bye Hermione."  
"Bye!"  
"Listen, you said you'd talk to Sirius, but why bother?"  
"Huh?"  
"Remember? He doesn't live all that far from me. Just a quick flight. I can talk to him now. Be back in, what? 10 minutes?"  
"You don't need to."  
There was no response for ten minutes. Harry was just getting ready to tear up the paper when words appeared again. "All set. Sirius is going to be in and out of town the rest of the summer."  
"How does that solve anything?"  
"Simple: On the 19th I can drive down and pick you up. You can either stay in our guest room or at Sirius's, doesn't matter. On the twentieth we go to Diagon Alley. Afterwards we bring back Hermione and on the 25th we all go back to Ron's."  
"Why don't I stay there in the first place?"  
"Harry, they are planning a wedding. They'll be so busy the house'll be upside down. They won't need more people to worry about. Trust me."  
"Okay. I'm going to go eat now. Bye." Harry tore up the sheet and tossed it in the trashcan. He stood and stretched. He glanced at the mirror and frowned. He felt like he looked the same as when he was eleven. True, he had gotten taller since then but out of the mirror the same unruly black hair, green eyes, skinny frame, and lightning scar on his forehead. He pushed the bangs out of his face and looked at the scar. It was all that was left of a horrible night when Harry was only a year old.  
The scene played back in Harry's memory. The cold laughter, the green light, his parents' last brave words. He knew it all. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and breathed for a moment before going downstairs. It was too early for lunch for the Dursleys but Harry didn't care. He could see his cousin had already made at least one raid on the kitchen. His cousin Dudley was.floppy. He had always been large due to lack of exercise (other than beating up people) but the diet he'd been on for the last three years had had mild success and it gave him a large, floppish look.  
Harry put a sandwich together and got a glass of juice to take up to his room. He didn't want to be downstairs when his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley came in. They'd rather he'd not exist, and he'd rather not exist in their home.  
As Harry shut the door to his room he heard Dudley and his friends stomp into the kitchen. Harry ate alone in his room. He wouldn't go back downstairs until all the Dursleys were occupied again. He lay down to think. Images flashed inside his head: his first Quiditch match, crashing in a flying car, watching his parents die, Cedric's death, Renata. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew was a sharp pain in his ankle.  
"OW! That hurts. Stop!" He smacked the aggressive owl at his ankle and hoped it didn't belong to any of his friends. It was an eagle owl and it was bearing letter.  
The owl hooted once before leaving.  
Harry scowled and glanced at his ankle. Sure enough there was blood there. He hobbled down the hall to the bathroom to clean up the bite and bandage it up. Harry thought, I wonder who sent that? He opened the letter.  
  
Do you miss me? You will not survive to turn 18. That is a  
fact. I'll make sure of it. By the way, your friends may not  
survive either. Just thought you ought to know.  
  
Instead of a signature or name at the bottom, there was only a skull with a snake coming out of it like a gruesome tongue. It was the Dark Mark. Voldemort's sign. The sign of the man who had murdered so many innocent people, including Harry's own parents.  
But there was no way to know whether Voldemort had sent this or whether it was one of his Death Eaters. It could have even been another Hogwarts student. Draco Malfoy and Harry hated each other. Harry tried to put the paper out of his mind and he shoved it in the trash. After all, Voldemort had been trying to kill him since he was a year old; the night he murdered Harry's parents.  
Harry started working on his homework to help take his mind off things. When he went to bed that night, Harry couldn't sleep. The letter was still on his mind. Eventually Harry turned on the light and retrieved it. He tried to tear up the letter. It didn't work. He took out a shoe and smashed it on the paper; it didn't leave a mark. This was getting frustrating. Harry crept down to the kitchen out rummaged around a drawer for a match. He lit it and tried to light the paper. Again, there was no success. He ran it under water and the ink didn't run. Harry wasn't sure why it was so important to him but he had to destroy the letter. After a few more futile attempts Harry went back to bed, though it was a long time before he fell asleep.  
Harry woke-up with the sun in his eyes and something under his arm. As Harry yawned lazily and stretched his arms he noticed something. The letter from the day before was stuck to his arm. Harry pulled it off and found both sides to be blank. His eyes widened in confusion. This letter had been serious. Now it was gone. What had happened?  
Harry knew that he should tell someone about the letter. But who was he supposed to talk to? Ron? Hermione? Renata? No, it said they were in danger, too, or they could be. He didn't want to worry them. This was probably a sick joke of Malfoy's. Sirius? Professor Delano? Dumbledore? It was useless. Everyone would overreact. They always did. Best not to tell anyone.  
Down at breakfast Harry's large, purple-faced, mustached Uncle Vernon was already eating and talking with beady-eyed, long-necked Aunt Petunia. Dudley was of course giving his plate undivided attention. Harry sat down and helped himself to a piece of whole-grain toast. It tasted terrible but he ate it in anyway. He waited for a break in the conversation to talk to his Uncle.  
"Er-Uncle Vernon?"  
"What, boy?" he growled, his eyes narrowing.  
"Er-that is-a friend of mine said they could pick me up on the nineteenth. Then you wouldn't have to worry about me the rest of the summer after that."  
"A friend? How would they get here?" his voice was getting dangerous.  
"Oh, a regular car. Some wi-I mean some people like me do use regular cars." He had nearly said "wizard" and that would have led to trouble. Or rather, more trouble.  
"Are you sure? Who is this? They promise not to bring you back here?"  
"Yes. It's a friend from school. The one who came last year. No, I won't be back here 'til next summer." And by then I could leave here forever, he thought.  
"Last summer?" Uncle Vernon took a large bite of toast.  
"Yeah. With Sirius and my professor. Renata said she'd drive me up to Sirius's house." Because you wouldn't let me get my license! Harry took another bite of the unpleasant toast in front of him as he waited for the answer.  
"I'll think about it, if you behave."  
Harry saw Dudley smirk across the table and knew instantly that this would not be an easy three weeks. *******************************************  
During the rest of the week Harry was miserable. Only the thought of getting back to Hogwarts in September kept him going. "Soon I'll be back where I belong and after that, the next time I see them I can turn them all into frogs," he muttered to himself. From the time he had learned he was a wizard until the middle of his first summer after coming home from Hogwarts, Harry had been able to spook the Dursleys into think he was able to turn them all into beetles or anything else at will. But they had found out that he'd get expelled for doing magic outside of school. He was still underage, and underage wizards weren't permitted to do magic outside of school.  
Harry heard Dudley and his gang thundering up the stairs. He grabbed a cloak that was lying on top of his trunk and he threw it over himself and held still. He didn't make a sound as Dudley and his friends came in, looking to beat him up as they always did. No one could see him. Harry was wearing the invisibility cloak he'd inherited from his father. They looked dully around the room. As they were leaving, Harry gave the one in the rear of the line a swift kick that caused him and his fellows in front of him to fall over, mostly on top of Dudley. Harry had a hard time not laughing; though through all the swearing the others likely wouldn't have noticed. Harry was glad that his invisibility cloak was still one secret the Dursleys hadn't caught on to.  
Harry grinned and shut his door once they were out of sight. He sighed. That trick could cost him. If Dudley decided to somehow blame Harry, Harry's life would instantly be made worse by a certain uncle of his.  
Dudley was too stupid to even suspect Harry but all the same, life became worse. The next day Harry had to mow and water lawn, prune the roses, repaint the garden bench, wash, all the dishes after each meal, vacuum every room in the house (but his aunt and uncle would let him in theirs), and he had to wash and wax his uncle's new company car, twice. Harry had just finished washing his uncle's car when Dudley and his friends came by.  
"Hey, freak! Watch this!" Piers Polkiss launched a mud-filled water balloon at Harry. He ducked and it splattered allover the freshly cleaned car.  
Harry groaned. Soon the mud-filled water balloons were being aimed not only at him, but the car as well. A few balloons landed without popping and Harry threw them straight back and the others, hitting Dudley twice and Piers once. When they were out of balloons Harry had guessed they were done. He started to clean the car again, not trusting himself if he had to speak to Dudley. He didn't notice Piers and another boy come behind him and grab his arms. By then it was too late and Dudley was already using him as a punching bag. When he and his friends were done with Harry, they left and the laughed.  
Harry cleaned the car yet again and waxed it. When he was done, Harry went for a short walk. He wasn't going to give Dudley the satisfaction of seeing how hurt he was when he came in. Harry ended up at Mrs. Figg's house. Mrs. Figg appeared to be an ordinary Muggle on an ordinary street, but she wasn't.  
Harry rang her doorbell and waited. It wasn't long before it was opened. But Mrs. Figg didn't answer.  
"She's not feeling well today, sorry, no visitors-Harry?"  
"Ginny? You're a long way from the Burrow aren't you?" Harry stared at Ginny. "You're taller."  
She blushed. "Yeah, well Mrs. Figg went to Hogwarts with my mum and she hasn't been feeling all that well lately. She's better now actually. My mum sent me here because things are just so hectic at home and she figured it would be good to help Mrs. Figg here for a while. What are you doing here? You don't look so well."  
It was Harry's turn to blush. "I live nearby. But the thing is, I-er- the thing is, my cousin beat me up. He and his friends. I think I got a couple cracked ribs, and my face isn't too good either. I'm still not allowed to do magic outside of school and I didn't want to show up back home looking like a train wreck."  
"Come in, then." Ginny led the way through Mrs. Figg's neatly kept, cabbage-smelling living room and through a wall that wasn't really there. This was Mrs. Figg's office. It was quite the opposite of the rest of the house.  
Mrs. Figg's office was casual and a mess. Things not found in the rest of the home were all over the workplace: eyes of various creatures, large and dusty tomes, a burning fire in a corner that while emitting heat it didn't catch anything else on fire, and there were also two cauldrons and a lady stirring the one on the right.  
The woman was muttering at one of the books; had brown hair that was on its way to gray, and blue eyes that searched the page as if looking deeper than it.  
"Mrs. Figg?"  
The woman looked up, "What, Ginny? Harry, what brings you here? You look awful."  
"Dudley got to me. Could you help me?"  
"Since you don't want to get expelled for doing spells outside of school. I understand. How much damage?"  
"Cracked ribs and both these eyes will be black."  
"Hmmm. Yes, that one is already turning blue. Ginny, get some ice from the freezer, please."  
"Ice?"  
"It'll bring the swelling down around your eyes, Harry. Sit." She motioned to a large comfortable chair in the corner. Mrs. Figg got up and chose a book off the shelf, muttering to herself. She picked up her wand and started making motions as she talked.  
Harry found his breath coming easier and his chest didn't hurt so much. "Thanks. Is there anything you can do about the eyes?" Now that he was breathing better he noticed the headache more.  
"I think so. And I'm sure you've got a headache. Oh, Ginny. You've got the ice. Put this on your eyes for a few minutes, Harry. Ginny, will you get him a glass of water and some aspirin for his headache?"  
"Sure."  
Harry could hear Ginny leaving even though he couldn't see her. He also heard Mrs. Figg going through packets and jars of things. It seemed to be a long time before Harry was allowed to remove the ice. Mrs. Figg held out two poultices and put them over his eyes. They smelled foul and were slimy.  
"What's in these?"  
"You don't want to know," said Ginny, standing somewhere near the door and sounding slightly amused.  
"Relax, it's banana leaves, shredded mandrake root, fish scales, a little dragon's blood and some spit from a Kneazle."  
Harry tried not to gag.  
"Here, take these aspirin."  
"How? I can't see anything." He felt two aspirin pressed into one hand and a glass of water into the other. Attempting to take these without watching was slightly more difficult than it looked and Harry spilled water down his front.  
He heard Ginny laugh. "It's all over you!"  
"Can I take these off my eyes yet?"  
"Wait another five minutes. Ginny, watch the clock for him. I have to go work on something. Goodbye, Harry."  
"Bye. Thanks." Harry groped around for a place to put his glass. He didn't want to get up; he might not be able to find the chair again.  
"Here. Give me that. There's no table near you." Ginny took the glass and set it down somewhere across the room. "I didn't know you lived near here."  
"I'm just a few streets away. Ron didn't mention you were staying here."  
"Really? When was the last time you heard from him?"  
"This morning."  
"Oh." She lowered her voice to a whisper and started giggling. "Did he tell you he's been writing a lot of letters to Hermione this summer?"  
Harry was beginning to feel dumb. "No. Hermione didn't mention it either."  
"Oh, he never sent most of them. Although he did send a few to Renata."  
"Really? He sent letters to her?" Things seemed to be getting worse by the second. He had talked to all three of them that morning and they hadn't mentioned anything; well Hermione was off the hook since she hadn't known about the letters. He was quiet for a while. "Er-I think it's been five minutes. Can I take this stuff off my eyes?" Harry removed the sloppy, gooey, stuff from on top of his eyes. He looked around for a mirror and found one hanging in the corner. "Wow. You can hardly tell. What sort of magic was this, anyway?"  
"Witch doctor brand. It's pretty old but it still works well enough."  
"I've got to get home. The Dursleys probably think I'm gone for good now and are all celebrating."  
"No, they're not!"  
"Sure they are." Harry shuffled all the way home, his mind wandering and he got lost twice during the short distance back to Privet Drive. Why was he so worked up about this? The four of them were friends: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata; four friends and mild troublemakers at Hogwarts. They'd all been through a lot together. Especially he and Ron. They'd been friends since the first time they boarded the Hogwarts Express. But they were all friends. What was so unusual about writing letters to your friends during the summer? Nothing. They all wrote to each other because they missed each other. But Ginny had made it sound like there was something else. Harry sighed. It was probably nothing. Ginny was just Ron's dumb little sister anyway. A little thought in the back of his mind said, But she isn't so little. She's only a year younger than you. She's not a baby; she's 16.  
When Harry entered the dining room his only relatives barely acknowledged his entrance.  
"Did you finish the car?"  
"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry filled his plate and did not speak another word and wasn't spoken to again. Harry cleaned the plates in silence.  
When Harry was on his way to his room Dudley asked dumbly, "Why aren't you hurt?" He knew he'd been hitting Harry hard.  
"I'm invincible. The older I get the stronger I get. You can't hurt me. Never again." This wasn't true but Harry laughed when he saw the look of terror on his cousin's face.  
The price to his joke was his uncle getting him up at dawn the next day to clean the gutters on the roof. 


	2. DursleyFree is the Way To Be

Author's Note: Okay, before I posted the WRONG chapter here. So this is completely different from what was here, it also explains why the next chapter probably didn't make sense before. Here it goes:  
  
The night before Renata was supposed to pick him up he packed up everything that was his: if he could help it, he'd never come back. He couldn't help smiling as he loaded everything into his trunk. He would finally be done with the Dursleys for good!  
Harry glanced at his robes. They were the standard, black Hogwarts robes. There were three of them and they were beginning to get a little short. He'd have to stop by Madam Malkin's robe shop when he went to Diagon Alley. By now he'd accumulated a lot of spell books. Six year's worth. He'd gotten a list of what new books he'd need for this year, now all he'd have to do is buy them. Harry looked at the two cloaks he had: one was the invisibility cloak he'd inherited; the other was his uniform black and silver cloak. Harry put socks and underwear in the trunk too and through birthday presents from the last few years on top. Last, Harry put away his Firebolt. This broomstick was the fastest, most well-balanced, broom in existence. It would never let him down during Quiditch matches and came with an unbreakable charm strong enough to withstand the Whomping Willow Tree on the grounds at Hogwarts; his last broomstick, the Nimbus 2000, hadn't been so lucky. Everything was ready except for the spell set Hermione had sent him for his birthday. He left that out and tried to talk to someone.  
"Anybody here?"  
Purple ink flared instantly. "Yes, I am."  
Red ink followed, "Me too. Can't stay though. Ginny'll be coming home in a few minutes and mum wants me downstairs."  
"Why didn't you tell me she was staying here?"  
Ron answered, "Bye."  
Renata asked, "Huh?"  
"Oh, I saw Ginny a couple weeks ago." And I had just been beaten up, he thought.  
"Whatever. I've got to go. See you tomorrow."  
"Wait."  
"What?"  
He searched for something to say like Why didn't you tell me Ron was writing you letters all summer? "What time are you coming tomorrow?"  
"Noon-ish?"  
"Sure."  
"Bye."  
"Bye."  
That night, Harry had a dream. He was wandering in complete darkness except for a tiny light bobbing in front of him. He didn't exactly know how he knew he was walking, but he did. He knew he had to follow the light. Something was behind him. He didn't know what it was, but it wasn't something good. Whatever it was could not be allowed to catch up to him at any cost.  
He was running faster and faster until he suddenly tripped. He woke up and couldn't breathe. It was several minutes before the breath came easy to him. After that he couldn't sleep, all he could do was wait for the dawn. It was only four hours away.three hours.two hours.  
When the sun was finally up, Harry got dressed. He couldn't make himself look at his eyes in the mirror, he'd ran, it was just a dream but he ran when he should have stood. He went down to make breakfast for the Dursleys. He thought bitterly to himself, Nightmares! I'm too old for these. I've got to concentrate.  
When Dudley came thundering down the stairs he made a face at Harry. Harry couldn't help but frown back, unfortunately, Dudley had moved and Harry was frowning at his Aunt Petunia. Her beady eyes stared back and she snapped, "Don't burn the eggs or you're not going anywhere!"  
Harry decided to take the threat seriously. He couldn't afford not to. He had to get away. Then he realized it didn't matter. He would not come back. He considered spilling everything all over his aunt and uncle and then hitting Dudley really hard. The thought vanished. It wasn't noon. They could still lock him up somewhere. After all, his uncle wouldn't hesitate about putting bars on the windows again or locking him in his room. The Dursleys didn't mind using brute force on him. He'd have to come up with something to do right when he left.  
His uncle interrupted his thoughts and barked, "How is he getting here?"  
"She's getting here in a regular car, Uncle Vernon."  
Harry anxiously waited for twelve o'clock. There was nothing he wanted more than to get away, as far away from the Dursleys as he could. The Dursleys tried to appear busy in the living room. Dudley was watching television (which probably wasn't an act). His aunt was looking through a magazine and his uncle read the paper. The room was tense. Harry had become desperate enough to go to his room and stare out the window. At a few minutes to twelve he saw it. He grinned as the familiar, little red car came up the street.  
Harry went down the stairs three at a time. Then he raced back upstairs and looked in the mirror. His hair was a mess. It always was. He went back downstairs just as the doorbell rang.  
"Get the door, boy!"  
Harry opened it and was face to face with a blonde girl, his own height and with dazzling blue eyes. "Hi." She looked exactly the same as he remembered her.  
She grinned right at him. "Hey, Harry. Hi, Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley." Her grin turned into a misleading smile. "I've brought some apples for you." She came and placed three on the coffee table. "Are you ready, Harry?"  
"Yeah. Just gotta get my trunk."  
"I'll help."  
As they went upstairs Harry asked, "I give up, what's with the fruit you gave them?"  
"Hexed."  
"Hexed? You can't work spells now. You're an underage witch, young lady." He tried to sound serious and ended up laughing.  
"You're no older than I am. I had Fred hex them. I got my mom to take me to Hogsmeade."  
"So what'll happen to them?"  
"Temporary blindness. Just for a minute. Well, one minute for every bite." She started laughing. "Take this end, I've got this one."  
They made their way slowly downstairs and carried the trunk out to the car. As Renata climbed into the driver's seat and put on a pair of sunglasses Harry said, "I'll be right back." He went back in the house. "I forgot to mention, one of your neighbors is a witch, and I'm not telling you which one. Have fun guessing, have a rotten life, and thanks for nothing!" He went back out to the car, very satisfied.  
Renata turned on the radio as he climbed in. "Listen," she was a little loud because of the radio, "I wanna make a stop at Bella's first."  
"Sure." Renata called Mrs. Figg "Bella" because she had known her a long time and that's what she called her. It was short for Arabella Figg. Within two minutes they were at Mrs. Figg's house.  
Renata rang the bell.  
"I'm sorry. No visitors today, come agai-Renata? Harry?"  
"Hey, Ginny. Are you sure its 'no visitors'?" asked Renata.  
"Come in! Come in!"  
Harry followed the girls in and said, "I thought Ron told me you had to go home?"  
"I did go home. Now I'm back. Harry, your cousin didn't beat you up again did he?"  
"He's been beating you up, Harry?" Renata frowned. "Maybe I should have had Fred put something stronger in that apple. Or given him a canary cream."  
Harry's face colored. He hadn't been planning to tell her that Dudley had been beating him up. He muttered something that sounded like, "It wasn't that bad."  
"5 Cracked ribs, one broken rib, and two black eyes. Yes, it was that bad. You two wait here. I'll get Mrs. Figg." She walked through the wall that wasn't there.  
Mrs. Figg and Ginny came out. "Renata! Harry! What a pleasant surprise. Staying for lunch, I hope?"  
"Sure. It's better than eating on the road."  
They sat down to some turkey sandwiches and great conversation. By the time they said goodbyes and hit the road they were stuffed.  
Harry and Renata listened to the radio for a while, occasionally Renata sang along and Harry was sure she'd lost her mind. Eventually Renata asked, "Thirsty? There's a drive-through up ahead. I always keep some Muggle cash on hand. Do you want anything to drink?"  
"Yeah."  
As Renata pulled up to the speaker she ordered two large Cokes. When they were through with their drinks Harry leaned back in his chair. He hadn't realized how tired he was. He shut his eyes just for a moment.  
He woke to the sound of the radio again.  
Renata looked over at him, "We're nearly there."  
He stretched his arms and remembered what he'd been meaning to ask her. Harry tried to sound casual, "Have you been hearing a lot from Ron this summer? I haven't been getting as many letters from him as I usually do."  
"Really?"  
He waited for her to say something else.  
"I've gotten plenty of letters."  
"Really?" he felt a lump in his throat. "A-about what?"  
"I'm not telling." She said in a singsong voice. She turned on the radio and started humming. After a few minutes she shut off the radio. "Aw.lighten up, Harry. It was a joke."  
"What part? It wasn't funny."  
"All right, all right. New topic: What do you think about the Quiditch team this year?"  
"I think there's still some definite work needed. Practice 4 times a week."  
"No." She didn't say this as an argument, just a fact.  
"Or what? You'll lead the team in a boycott? Again?"  
"Nope. I've got an even better idea. I sent a letter to Madam Hooch over the summer. We're Co-Captains. Dumbledore even approved it himself. You're not running the show anymore."  
"B-b-but-"  
Renata just smiled and allowed him to sit there stuttering for another moment. "We're home." She parked the car.  
Harry hadn't noticed that they'd already made it up through the hills and into the area where Sirius, the Delanos, and several other wizarding families lived.  
"We'll get your trunk later. I promised my mom you'd say hello before rushing off to Sirius's."  
Harry followed her inside and found Professor Delano drinking some tea and reading a book. "Hello, Harry."  
Renata put her hands on her hips and asked, "What? No hello for me?"  
"Hello to you, too, then. Harry, Sirius just stopped by. He's going out of town to night. Work. So he wanted me to give you these in case you don't have time to stop at Madam Malkin's tomorrow. He said he noticed your robes were getting short." She handed over a couple wrapped parcels. "And I wanted to say that if you don't want to stay alone at Sirius's tonight you're more than welcome to stay in the guest room here."  
"Thanks, Professor. I'm going to go see Sirius now." He turned to go then turned back and added, "He hasn't left yet, has he?"  
"I don't think so."  
"Okay." Harry turned again to leave and found Renata in front of him. "What?"  
"You're not walking are you? That'll take forever and you want to see him. I'm driving."  
Harry didn't bother arguing with her. It was several miles to Sirius's house. With Renata there was never much point in trying to argue anyway, she always won and made you feel bad for arguing even when she started it.  
Within a few minutes they had reached Sirius's house. Harry all but jumped from the car and was nearly running to the house, "Sirius? Sirius! Are you here?"  
A muffled voice called from upstairs, "Right here, Harry!"  
Harry raced up the stairs to meet him. "Hi, Sirius."  
"Hello. How's your summer been?"  
"No worse than usual."  
Sirius chuckled. "That's good. Otherwise I might have had to go give those Dursleys a piece of my mind."  
"Renata already did."  
"Really now? How?"  
"Hexed apples. A minute of blindness for every bite." Renata tried to look innocent and failed.  
"And they are trying to guess which of their neighbors is a witch."  
"Well, I've got to go, Harry, but I'll see you soon."  
"Where are you going?"  
"I have to take care of something for work."  
"Hogwarts business? It's still August!"  
"No. Other work."  
"Where are you working?"  
"It doesn't matter. I'll be gone at least until tomorrow maybe the day after. You're welcome to stay here or you can stay with the Delanos."  
"Fine."  
"Look, I'm sorry I can't stay, Harry. Really I am. I missed you."  
"Okay."  
"Look, I'll see you soon." He vanished.  
"Harry, let's go get your trunk out of the car and up to your room."  
As they entered room and sat down the trunk by the end of the bed, Harry looked at the familiar surroundings. Things were almost the same as when he had left: there was a tall wardrobe, a dresser, a few chairs, and a nightstand by the large bed. The bed was covered with a scarlet quilt bordered with gold. The walls were white and the back wall had a large window. The only major difference Harry could see was the pictures. There were pictures on the wall and on top of the different pieces of furniture. They were of his parents. They looked so happy. Harry found one on his nightstand that he was almost positive was his dad with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. He picked up another one, this one was his mum standing next to Renata's; they'd been best friends.  
Harry felt something wet in his eye.  
"Don't cry, Harry. We're not babies."  
Harry looked at Renata. A few tears were running down her cheeks. She held a picture of both her parents with both his parents. She sniffled a few times quietly and her eyes and face were wet.  
"I don't remember them," he said quietly.  
"I don't remember. I lost him when I was the same age as you were when your parents."  
He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder once or twice and then he said, "We didn't lose them. They were taken from us." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve.  
"Yeah, I'm done too. Let's go. I'm hungry and I think my mom is making pork chops, tonight." 


	3. Diagon Alley

After dinner that night, the three of them sat in the den in front of the fire. Renata's mom was reading something and Renata and Harry were going over Quiditch plays.  
"So are you staying here tonight?"  
Harry looked around him. The fire was bright, the company was good, he wanted to be here. He did not want be back with all those pictures.not yet. "Yeah. I'm staying."  
"Then we'd better go get your trunk, otherwise you won't have anything to wear tomorrow."  
"Right." **********************************************************  
The first sound Harry heard the next morning was someone shouting outside his door, "Up!"  
Harry groaned.  
"Now!" The door was flung open, "Wake up! We leave in half an hour!"  
"Aw, jeez! Renata, don't you ever knock? What if I was getting dressed?" He sat up groggily and reached for his glasses.  
"If you would have been up you would have responded when I told you to get up and then I wouldn't have opened the door. Get dressed." She slammed the door shut and left.  
Harry looked through his trunk for something to wear. When he was ready, he went downstairs to the kitchen.  
"So how are we getting to Diagon Alley?" he said, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.  
"Floo powder. No point in wasting such a long time driving." She shoveled spoonful after spoonful of cereal in her mouth.  
"Someone's knocking at the door."  
"Oh! It's Claire. I'll get it." She leapt out of her seat and raced off to the door.  
Now, Harry hadn't meant to eavesdrop but when he heard his name, he just couldn't help it.  
"So, is Harry here?"  
"Yeah. He's in there. Keep it down."  
Harry left his chair and crept closer to the doorway to hear better.  
"Does he know?"  
"About Ron? Nope. He knows there's something, he just doesn't know what." Renata laughed.  
"Isn't that mean?"  
"No, if he asks me something I won't lie but I'm not going to tell him or give him anymore hints."  
"So what's Ron thinking, anyway?"  
"Too early to tell, but I think it'll all work."  
"I hope so. How's Ginny taking everything?"  
"She's fine, I think. We should go back before Harry comes looking for us. Wouldn't want him to hear what we're saying, right?"  
"Uh-uh."  
The three students and Professor Delano lined up in front of the fire.  
Harry went first. He put his glasses in his pocket and threw a pinch of green Floo Powder into the flames. "Diagon Alley!" He was sucked into the fire with green flames surrounding him. When he came out of the fire at the Leaky Cauldron he fell on the floor. He stood and brushed himself off, wondering if he would ever learn to travel by Floo Powder without falling down at the end. It was not his favorite way to travel. He coughed a few times to rid his lungs of some ash.  
By the dim light he made his way up to the counter and ordered a soda. He looked around and saw someone he recognized. Draco Malfoy. His pale hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Harry and Malfoy had hated each other since their first year.  
"Potter, you don't look well. Apparently you've got too much Mudblood in you to be able to stand the way real wizards travel."  
"Take that back, now." He felt his face getting red. Mudblood was a vulgar name used for wizards who weren't purebloods, or Muggle free. Harry's mum had been born to Muggle parents though she had full wizard powers.  
"No," he smirked.  
"I said take it back! Otherwise, you'll live to regret it."  
"But you won't. And neither will your friends," Malfoy said, nonchalantly. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"  
"You sent that letter!"  
"Oh no, not I. Someone much higher up. He sent it." There was no need to specify that "he" was Voldemort.  
Harry knew Malfoy was bluffing. Such childishness was beneath Voldemort and much more likely something petty that Draco Malfoy would do. "You little-I'll get you for that!" Before Harry realized what he was doing, he scaled the counter and was over at the other side, holding Malfoy by the front of his robes. "Are you going to apologize?"  
"No." He spat in Harry's face and pushed him, hard. That's when the blow came. Malfoy hit Harry, square in the jaw.  
Harry felt his jaw; it felt broken but he wasn't sure. He didn't waste time finding out and instead he punched Malfoy in the nose. Before he knew the punches were flying. A small crowd had gathered around them, most were rooting for Harry but a few seemed to be cheering for Malfoy.  
"Get him!"  
"Hit him where it hurts!"  
"Tear 'im limb from limb!"  
"Somebody stop them!"  
That's when Harry saw a different fist hit Malfoy. It wasn't his, both of his were accounted for. Then, while Malfoy was on the ground, that same fist came flying back and knocked Harry off his feet.  
"Hey! What's the big idea?" shrieked Malfoy.  
"Yeah! Buzz off you-" Then Harry looked and saw who was standing there.  
"Harry, Malfoy, get over it. Knock it off now. Or else." Renata's voice was icy.  
"Or else what?" sneered Malfoy.  
Renata leaned over until she was inches from his face, "Or else you'll get worse than a bloody nose. Both of you understand?" She glared at both Harry and Malfoy.  
Neither of them moved.  
"I am waiting for an answer!" her eyes narrowed.  
Harry and Malfoy nodded.  
"Good. In that case, I've got some shopping to do, and if either of you start a fight, I'll know. So don't." She walked away.  
Harry stood up gingerly and tested his limbs. They hurt. His face hurt, too. Jaw wasn't in good condition and he was almost positive his nose was broken; he knew his glasses were. From what little he could see without his glasses it looked like Malfoy wasn't really in any better condition.  
Malfoy started to walk away. He stopped when he was about even with Harry's glass of soda, which had sat on the counter all this time. "Come here, Potter."  
Harry took a few stiff steps forward. "Yeah?" he said quietly.  
"Apparently you need a girl to fight your battles for you, at least I don't." He walked away and Harry knew he was smirking but by then Harry couldn't care. He grabbed his soda went to find somewhere to sit out of the way where no one would notice him for a while.  
"Harry, that was very inappropriate."  
"Professor Dumbledore, I-er-"  
"Why did you hit him, Harry?"  
Harry was ready to say it was all Malfoy's fault and he was defending himself but instead the words came out, "I rose to his stupid bait, I got mad and started hitting him." Why did he say that?  
"Well, in the future I want you to know two things. Boys like Mister Malfoy are not worth beating up. And.your left hook needs some work." Dumbledore smiled and disappeared.  
"Harry!"  
He turned to see Hermione coming to him.  
"Are you all right? You look awful! What happened?"  
"Malfoy. Malfoy happened. He was teasing me and I let my temper get the better of me. It was stupid." Where did that come from, thought Harry. "I don't think it's anything to serious. He got my jaw and I'm going to have a few bruises."  
"Harry, your nose is bleeding." She handed him some tissues.  
"Oh, that. Renata broke up the fight by punching us both in the nose. It's probably broken."  
Hermione looked at him. "Hmmm.the nose isn't broken but it'll be sore. I'll go ask Tom for some ice."  
Harry sat and waited for Hermione to come back. He tried to make himself small and not noticeable but he still felt like everyone was watching him even though know one was when he looked around.  
"Alright. Harry, wipe the blood off with this and then pinch your nose and put your head back. You might want to hold this ice on your nose, too, otherwise it could swell up like a balloon." She handed him some wet napkins and another napkin with ice wrapped up in it. "I don't think there's anything that can be done about the bruises really. Here's something a nice hag over there gave me for your jaw." She got out a little green pot with pink goo in it. "Here, smooth it around your jaw on the outside."  
"What's the point of this?"  
Hermione looked briefly annoyed. "This is supposed to heal fractures in case Malfoy did break your jaw."  
Harry didn't want to know how stupid he looked.  
"Here, take this newspaper if you don't want anyone to see your face." She thrust the latest issue of the Daily Prophet at him. "So is Ron here yet?"  
Harry opened the paper in front of his face. "Not that I know of. How long do I have to have this goop on my face?" he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  
"Ten minutes. Where did Renata go?"  
"She said she had some shopping to do and that she'd know and be mad if Malfoy and I started fighting again." He sighed. "No!"  
"What's wrong?"  
"I should have asked Dumbledore what was wrong with Sirius."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I don't think Sirius is working at Hogwarts this year and I should have asked Dumbledore when he was here a few minutes ago."  
"Oh. So do you know what time Ron was supposed to get here? He didn't tell me."  
"Didn't tell me either. Bet he told Renata," he muttered.  
"What did you say?"  
Harry had planned to say "it was nothing," but those weren't the words that came out of his mouth. "I said I bet he told Renata when he was getting here."  
"What makes you say that?"  
To Harry's surprise he answered, "Because Claire and Renata were talking about him the morning and they didn't know I was listening."  
"What did they say?"  
"Claire asked if I was at Renata's house. Renata said yes. Claire asked if I knew about Ron. Renata told her that I know there's something but that I don't know what it is. Claire thought that was mean. Renata said she'd tell me if I asked but otherwise she wouldn't give any more hints. Then Claire asked what Ron was thinking and Renata said it was too early to tell but she thought it would all work. Then Claire asked how Ginny was taking everything and Renata said she was fine and that they should go back to the kitchen before I went looking for them."  
"Oh." She just sat there for a few minutes before asking, "Are you sure you heard them right?"  
"Of course I am! My ears work fine."  
"Then what do you think they meant?" she whispered.  
"I think there's something going on there that we don't know about." He took another sip of his drink.  
Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry, normally you would not have answered a question like that. Am I right?"  
"Yeah."  
"You would have said something to the effect of, 'I don't know'. So why are you answering so.so.honestly?"  
"I.I can't help it."  
"Just as I thought! Did you leave your drink sitting on the counter without watching it?"  
"Yeah, when I was fighting with Malfoy. I still can't really see; he broke my glasses."  
"I thought as much." It looked as though Hermione was smiling, but it was hard to be sure. She asked, "Did he stop anywhere near your drink when he was leaving?"  
"Come to think of it, yeah."  
"He put some sort of truth potion in your drink."  
"You mean, if anyone asks me anything I have to tell the truth?" He thought about the hundreds of things he could be asked. "Is it Veritaserum?"  
Hermione nodded. "You have to tell the truth but I don't think it is Veritaserum. Even Malfoy probably couldn't get his hands on that. The effects of this potion should wear off."  
"Should? You mean they might not?"  
"Never can tell. But they should wear off somewhere between a day and a week."  
"A week!"  
Hermione nodded. "Time to take the goop off your face." She handed him a napkin.  
"Thanks, Hermione. Let's go find Ron and Renata if we can."  
"Here're your glasses. I had someone fix them. We should start at Flourish and Blotts since we need our books anyway."  
"Right." They got up and walked out the back door of the Leaky Cauldron. There was a little yard out here with nothing but weeds, a couple trashcans, and a brick wall. With a tap with his wand on the right brick the wall opened and they crossed over into Diagon Alley.  
The street was paved with white stones and there were shops on both sides.  
"Gringotts first. I've got to get some money." They made their way to the large marble building. This was Gringotts, the wizard bank. A pair of goblins bowed as they passed through the first set of doors and then another pair bowed as they passed the second set of doors. Hermione went to one counter to trade her Muggle money for wizard money. She was back at Harry's side before he was done with the goblin he was talking to.  
"Yes, I have my key. I would like to make a withdrawal."  
The goblin behind the counter called to one of his companions. The goblin led Harry and Hermione away to a cart that led underground to the vaults. The cart traveled at breakneck speed like a roller-coaster. It stopped suddenly and the goblin announced that they'd arrived. The goblin opened the vault and stood back. Harry scooped some money into his bag and climbed back into the cart. They traveled back up the track to daylight and left in search of their friends.  
"Flourish and Blotts, you think?"  
Harry nodded. The others couldn't be too far ahead.  
The window and the bookstore had a display the included books the size of paving stones and other books the size of a palm.  
Hermione asked the manager for the books they needed while Harry looked around for Renata and Ron. He didn't see them, but he did see, "Lavender?"  
"Hi, Harry. What are you doing here?"  
"Hermione and I are getting our school books. And we're looking for Renata and Ron."  
"Yeah. I saw the two of them. I thought that was a little weird."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Oh, nothing. Just forget it, Harry. I'll see you at school."  
"That's strange."  
"What's strange?" asked Hermione as she came carrying two bags of books.  
"Something Lavender said."  
"Here are your books and your change. Now what did Lavender say?"  
"She saw Ron and Renata in here and she thought it was weird."  
"I wonder why?"  
"Probably because it's usually all four of us and not just two." They went to the apothecary to refill on potion supplies. Three stores later they still hadn't found them.  
"Hermione, Ron wouldn't want to avoid me, would he?" He wondered what was wrong with his best friend.  
"No, don't be silly." She didn't sound very confident.  
"I've got it. If there's one place either of them will be it's Quality Quiditch Supplies."  
"Good idea."  
The usual display of Quiditch robes and various brooms was up but they couldn't find Ron or Renata.  
"Seamus, have you seen Ron and Renata?"  
"Hey, Harry. They just left."  
"Do you know where they went?"  
"The joke shop down the street, I think."  
"Thanks, bye."  
"Wait."  
"What?"  
"I haven't talked to you all summer. How've you been?"  
"No worse than usual."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Summers with my aunt and uncle are never good and this wasn't any different."  
"Okay. I'll talk to you at school then. G'bye."  
"Bye." Harry found Hermione again. "Joke shop." He led the way. The only customer in the joke shop was Colin Creevy. Colin was in Ginny's year and he'd always been a big fan of Harry's.  
"Hiya, Harry!"  
Colin was sixteen now, Harry wondered if he'd ever outgrow that. "Hullo, Colin. You haven't seen my friend Ron around here, have you?"  
"Sure I have. Him and Renata."  
"Great. Where did they go?"  
"I don't know. Why do you want to find them?"  
Oh no, thought Harry, a question! "Well, Ron's my best friend and I haven't seen him all summer and, er, Renata, well...I.I want to talk to her. Thanks."  
As they left shop Hermione smiled. "This is interesting."  
"What is?"  
"Nothing really right now. But I could ask you any question and you would have to answer the truth."  
"Don't."  
"I'm not that cruel. Besides, I think I know the answer already."  
"What's the question, then? Never mind! I don't want to hear the question. Then I'd have to answer it. Don't tell Ron and Renata about the stupid potion Malfoy slipped into my drink, all right?"  
Hermione chuckled. "Sure. But if they notice you're sort of bruised and they ask why you have to tell them. Let's check back at the Leaky Cauldron."  
Sure enough Ron and Renata were there, sitting with Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. "Hey, we've been looking for you two," called Renata.  
"Have not. We've been looking for you." Harry and Hermione set down their shopping bags.  
"Hello, dears," said Mrs. Weasley. "Join us for lunch."  
"Thank you." Harry sat down. "You know, Mrs. Weasley, since you're probably really busy with the wedding plans for Percy, Ron could stay at Sirius's with me."  
"That's very nice of you, dear."  
"What do you think, Ron?"  
"Sure."  
"Great, the four of us'll spend the rest of summer together," said Renata. "Hermione is staying at my place."  
"Great." Harry was sitting next to Ron and once everyone else was talking he began to question him in hushed tones. "So where were you two? Hermione and I were looking for you guys."  
"Really? Renata said you guys wanted to talk so we shouldn't bug you."  
"She did?"  
"Yeah."  
"I wasn't planning on shopping with Hermione all morning."  
"Well, then why were you still in here with her when Renata came to Diagon Alley?"  
Harry blushed a deep red. "It was Malfoy okay? Malfoy came in here and we started fighting and we were both beat up pretty bad. Hermione was helping me, I ended up with a bloody nose, a busted jaw, and broken glasses."  
"Oh. Well, what exactly happened?"  
"He started insulting me and I lost my temper. We started hitting each other. It got messy. He ended up as bad off as I was though, almost as bad as I was."  
"So that's it?"  
Harry wanted to say "yes" and he couldn't. "Renata came and broke up the fight and threatened us. Then Dumbledore talked to me for a minute. Then, Hermione found me and started patching me up. I didn't even know my nose was bleeding."  
"So that's it? Nothing more to it? Nothing you aren't telling me?"  
"Malfoy put a truth potion in my drink when he left," muttered Harry.  
"Ha!" Ron started laughing. "Does Renata know? Man, if it was me and she found out I'd have to just crawl under a rock."  
"That's why you can't tell her, okay? Hermione said this one wasn't a strong one so the potion should wear off but I don't know how long it'll take."  
"Sure, I'll keep quiet. And ask questions."  
"Ron!"  
Ron sniggered and changed the subject, "What do you think about the Gryffindor team this year?"  
"I think we're in trouble. Renata wrote to Dumbledore and Madam Hooch. We're Co-Captains."  
Ron started laughing, "Oh, you are so in trouble. She going to be running the team completely, isn't she?"  
"Pretty much."  
When they were done eating, Ron went back to the Burrow with his mum and sister, ("Gotta go get my Hogwarts stuff!"); Professor Delano was still nowhere to be seen; Harry and Hermione carried her school stuff down from upstairs; and Harry, Renata and Hermione went back to the Delanos house. When Ron got there, Harry and Ron went over to Sirius's. They played Gobstones while they waited for Sirius to show up.  
Sirius appeared at the door. "Hello? Anyone home?"  
"Sirius!"  
"Sirius!"  
"Hello, boys. How've you been?"  
"Pretty good but I got in a fight at the Leaky Cauldron today."  
"Harry, what did I tell you about fighting?"  
"To win?"  
Sirius tried not to grin, and ended up chuckling. "And?"  
"Not to do it."  
"That's right."  
"It was Malfoy."  
"That's a different story. That brat-I mean-fighting is still wrong."  
"I know."  
"Do you boys want dinner?"  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sure."  
"Good." Sirius went to the kitchen to make some dinner. When they sat down to eat, Sirius said, "Ron, I heard your brother was getting married."  
"Yeah. In a few days."  
"Ron's the best man."  
"Yeah, I still don't know what Penelope sees in Percy though." He wrinkled his nose. Then he cleared his throat and did an imitation of Percy, "'Don't run! Don't break any rules, don't talk, don't have any fun! Study for your exams and for goodness sake do your homework!'"  
"Wait, is that Percy or Hermione?" laughed Harry.  
"Percy. Hermione would have sounded like this." He put on a falsetto voice, "'Harry, don't do that! It's dangerous! Ron, why aren't you doing your homework? What if I get less than a hundred percent on my exam? Oh, no!'"  
They all laughed.  
"That's pretty good," said Harry.  
"Thanks. Want to hear Ginny?" He put on his high voice again, "'Harry! I can't believe how cute he is! Oh, and he's so brave. Don't you think so, mum?'"  
This time Harry didn't laugh but he blushed a lot. "Please say she doesn't still act like that."  
"Not really that much anymore," he confessed. "But a couple years ago that would've been a great impression."  
Harry nodded. "What about Renata?"  
"Her? Impossible. She's way too unpredictable. She probably just randomly come into a room and start talking about the square root of 24,562 and then break off in the middle of her sentence to talk about Quiditch."  
"Not really. She'd probably be something like this," Harry altered his voice accordingly, "'What did you call me? That's it I'm going to jinx you! I always get payback.' Or 'What did you say? That's it! Team, we're boycotting! No more practice! We're on strike!'"  
"That was some stunt, wasn't it though? She got the whole team to quit right before a big game!" Ron told Sirius. "And that other time she suspended you from the team and took over as Captain!"  
"Harry, is that true?"  
"Yeah. Fifth year. I was making the team practice five or six times a week because we had a big game coming up against Slytherin. Renata decided this wasn't fair she convinced the team not to show up and neither did she."  
"How long did it last?"  
"Until I gave in and reduced practice back to three times a weeks."  
"Yeah. I think you were a little crazy, Harry." Ron turned to Sirius, "Hermione and Renata kept giving him sleeping potions to keep from getting out at night to practice by himself."  
"I was a committed player," he protested.  
"Yeah, but you should have been committed to a home for the insane. There were times last year when we couldn't make you even sleep or anything unless we forced you to drink a sleeping draught."  
"Ron's right, Harry."  
"Don't start, Sirius. My dad was just obsessed as me, it must run in the family."  
"You're right. Well."  
"So how did your business go?"  
"The truth is, I'm not allowed to tell you about it."  
"Can you at least tell us if you're still working at Hogwarts?"  
"I suppose I can, I'm not."  
"Then who will our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher be?"  
"We're still working on that."  
"Do we have to have a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"  
"Yes, you do. And no you can't drop out of Snape's class. I tried to talk Dumbledore into letting you out of it but he said no."  
"I saw Dumbledore today."  
"What did he say?"  
"My left hook needed work." He grinned as best friend and his godfather laughed. 


	4. The Graveyard

Harry woke up and stretched his arms, yawning. He knew he wasn't at the Dursleys, he knew he didn't have to go to class, he'd be spending the day with his best friends, and he was with the closest thing he'd ever get to a parent: life didn't get much better than this.  
The floor was warm as he stepped out of bed. He didn't bother getting dressed; pajamas were fine for breakfast. Harry came to the door of the guest room and knocked, "Ron, breakfast."  
He heard a groan from behind the door. Apparently Ron wasn't ready to get up yet.  
Harry went downstairs without him.  
Sirius was just setting the table for breakfast. He set the table for six.  
"What's going on? There's only three of us."  
"Oh, Jenn stuck her head in the fireplace and said the girls wanted to come see you later, but I told her, 'Why wait?' And I invited them all over for breakfast."  
"Oh. I'll be right back." Harry ran upstairs and threw open the door to the guest room. "Ron!"  
"What? Can't a guy get any sleep around here?"  
"You can if you want to miss breakfast. Hermione and Renata are coming over."  
"They are?"  
"They'll be here any minute."  
They ran downstairs still in their pajamas and didn't slow until they were nearly in the kitchen. The girls were at the table.  
Renata saw them and laughed, "Wow. Pajamas at breakfast. It must be the latest fashion statement!"  
Hermione smiled, "We must be really behind the times, Renata."  
"Yeah, I'll say. First thing tomorrow I'm buying new PJs."  
The boys tried to shrug it off. "It's early. We didn't feel like changing. Big deal."  
"Yeah. What's for breakfast?" *********************************************  
That night, after Ron had gone upstairs and Renata had gone home, Hermione stayed and talked to Harry for a long time.  
Harry asked, "We're almost done with school. We'll have to join the real world. Any regrets yet in life?"  
"I wish my parents understood more about me being a witch. They don't really. It confuses them. They say they're proud and I know they love me but they don't really understand. And I think my sister's afraid of me."  
"You never told us you had a sister."  
"She's fourteen. Not a witch. She doesn't understand either. And at least my parents are supportive. She tries to pretend it isn't true. She tells her friends I'm at boarding school and I think she tries to believe it, too. Do you have regrets?"  
"Yeah, I do. I couldn't stop them dying. Not Cedric. Not Terry. Not my parents. Not Hagrid. I couldn't save them. They all died and I couldn't do a thing about it."  
Hermione tried to lighten the mood. "It's not your fault, you're the only one who thinks you have to carry the world on your shoulders. You're answer just now seemed really honest, so I guess that truth serum of Malfoy's is still working. So what do you really think of Renata?"  
"Actually, it's not working. And I'm not going to tell you."  
"Why not?"  
"Because.it's not your business."  
"It could be. Maybe I could help."  
"How?"  
"Well that depends on what you think of her."  
"What do you think of Ron?"  
"I think I'm leaving now and I'm not going to tell you. Goodbye, Harry. I'll see you in the morning."  
"Bye, Hermione." He heard her leave via the fireplace as he went upstairs to put on his pajamas. *************************************  
The next two days were a lot of fun; they hung out, talked, and didn't come to the table in their pajamas if the girls were coming over. Although the very next day the girls had done just that and laughed when they saw the boys weren't wearing pajamas. All the while Sirius and Jenn watched with bemused smiles. ************************************  
On the twenty-fourth no one came over for breakfast, and Ron wasn't there when Harry woke up.  
He walked downstairs, fully dressed. "Sirius, what's going on? Where's Ron?"  
"Harry, I think you should come with me."  
"Where are we going, Sirius?"  
"I think it's time you saw this." Harry and Sirius stood in front of the fire. Harry didn't catch the name of the place they were whisked off to but when they got there were a gate and a security guard in front of him.  
"Sirius, where are we?"  
"I thought you ought to see where your parents are buried, Harry." Sirius showed the guard his identification and he pushed back Harry's bangs with the other hand. The guard nodded and the gates opened. Sirius steered Harry in with a hand on his shoulder.  
They walked past rows of headstones. Finally they reached two of the headstones in particular and stopped in front of them. One was a triangle. It read: HERE LIES LILLY POTTER, LOVING MOTHER & WIFE. MAY HER SPIRIT FOREVER ENDURE. Beneath the words was a small carving of a phoenix, shaded in with red and gold. The headstone next to it was a circle that read: HERE RESTS JAMES POTTER, DEVOTED FATHER AND HUSBAND. MAY HE ALWAYS BE AT PEACE. Beneath his words was a phoenix icon identical to Lilly's. Harry looked around and saw that very few of the headstones bore the mark of the phoenix. Probably no more than two-dozen.  
Harry knew he was crying. He let himself cry. Sirius was crying too. Sirius finished and Harry cried for another minute or so, Sirius's hand on his shoulder.  
Finally, he looked up at Sirius. "I never knew them, Sirius. The only time I see them or hesr them is while I watch them die, over and over in my mind. I don't have memories. Only guilt. They died because of me. Just like Cedric did. I watched them all die and I couldn't do anything."  
"Listen to me, Harry. It's not your fault. Voldemort killed Cedric. Voldemort killed Terry. Voldemort killed your parents. You couldn't stop him."  
"Sirius, what's going to happen when I die?"  
"No one really knows what happens when we die. Some people become ghosts but as to the rest, how do any of us know?"  
"People think that when I die.something will happen. Something bad. Dumbledore thinks so and so does Renata's mum. Sirius, do all of you know something that I don't? What's going to happen?"  
Sirius hugged him tightly. "We aren't going to let anything happen to you, Harry."  
"I'm not afraid of him, Sirius. What's going to happen to everyone else?"  
"I can't tell you, Harry."  
"Why?"  
"Because, I'm not allowed to, Harry! Don't you understand? You took divination. Didn't you plot out the paths of destiny? Don't you know?"  
"Know? Know? No, I don't know. We're supposed to start destiny plotting this year."  
Sirius sighed, genuine pain was in his face and voice. "I just can't tell you. Dumbledore will. He'll tell you when he thinks your ready to hear the truth."  
"Sirius, I can handle whatever it is. I want answers. Please. I need answers."  
"Harry."  
"Why aren't you teaching this year? Why did Voldemort want to kill my parents? Sirius, answer me!"  
"Harry, Dumbledore gave me an excellent recommendation to teach at another school. So I will still be teaching."  
"What about my parents? Voldemort killed them because of me. Didn't he?"  
"Harry, I think we should go home."  
"No! Not until you answer my questions."  
"Harry, this isn't a talk I'm allowed to have with you. Dumbledore told you he'd tell you when the time was right."  
"Sirius, for seven years I've been asking why it happened. If the time isn't right now when will it be?"  
"Harry, I trust Dumbledore in this. He knows what he's doing."  
"Sirius, Hagrid trusted Dumbledore, too. Don't you see? It doesn't matter anymore because something didn't go right and Hagrid is dead. Just like my parents. If I don't know anything I'm not going to be able to help stop it."  
"Harry, even if I could tell you I don't think there'd be anything you could do about it."  
"Can't you tell me anything?"  
"Let's go home, Harry."  
"I'm not leaving. Not yet."  
"Alright. I'm going. Come home when you're ready."  
Harry wandered around the cemetery. He read the headstones and thought about his parents and anything he could remember hearing about them. He knew every word his parents had said when Voldemort had shown up. He knew precisely how they lay when they died. He knew their last words. Harry tried to think of something else about them. He remembered a dream he'd had in his fifth year, during his stay at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies. He found himself at his parents' home. They were alive and well, his mother holding a one year old him in her arms. He had warned them about Peter. He told them to get of there, told them that they had to leave. They said they knew and that that was the way it had to be. Then he'd woken up. He tried to think of anything else he could remember, he tried to get away from that awful night. He thought back to the day he'd first met Hagrid. Hagrid had told him that his parents had been Head Girl and Head Boy at Hogwarts. Harry was Head Boy now. Thinking about Hagrid was still painful too, what else did he know? Quiditch. His dad played Quiditch for Gryffindor. Nothing painful there, Harry was great at Quiditch.  
Harry sighed. A handful of things he'd been told. That was all he had left of them; that, a pile of money in Gringotts, the invisibility cloak, and a single notebook that had belonged to his mum. Walking around he found the grave of Jonathan Delano, there was a Phoenix icon. Harry thought This must be Renata's dad. In another part he saw the grave of Mrs. Figg's husband.  
Harry knew he didn't need to stay any longer. He made his way back to the gate, nodded at the security guard, and disappeared through the fireplace. 


	5. Wedding Bells Ring

Harry looked around. No one seemed to be home. He found a note: HARRY, WENT OUT FOR A WHILE. BE BACK SOON. HELP YOURSELF TO SOME DINNER. RON IS AT THE DELANO'S. GO GET HIM WHEN YOU'RE READY. Harry crumpled the note. Then he scolded himself silently. It was wrong for him to be so childish, sure his life wasn't great but right now it was better than it ever had been. He was living with his godfather for at least a little while, his best friend was staying with him, and his two other best friends were just a short flight away. He'd be going back to Hogwarts soon. He should be happy. But he wasn't. And there wasn't anything he could do about it.  
Harry decided to go see Ron. Maybe then he could forget everything for a while.  
"You okay, Harry?"  
"Huh?"  
"You don't look too good. Are you okay?"  
"Yeah. I'm fine." *****************************************  
Harry sat in his room for a long time that night. Sirius still wasn't home and Ron was asleep in the guestroom.  
"Harry? I'm home. Are you here? Harry?"  
Harry sat in his room and didn't answer. He heard Sirius come up the stairs and knock on the door.  
"Harry? Do you want to talk?"  
"No."  
"Okay then. Make sure you get plenty of rest. We have to be at the Weaslys' at 10 in the morning."  
"So?"  
"Don't use that tone on me. We're driving there. Wake up early." He shut the door.  
* * *  
Harry heard a knock on the door. He groaned and rolled over.  
"Harry, get up. We're leaving soon."  
"Alright."  
"Good."  
Sirius left to go wake Ron up and Harry got dressed. He took his dress robes out of his dresser. With the new school robes Sirius had gotten for him had been a new set of dress robes, green with dark blue on the cuffs.  
He went down to breakfast. Ron was there, eating and wearing dark blue dress robes.  
"Where's Sirius?" Harry pulled out a chair and sat down helping himself to pancakes.  
"Still getting dressed upstairs. Hermione and the Delanos will be here soon, probably leaving for the Burrow in twenty minutes. Mum wants me there early." He scowled at his plate. "She wants to make sure I'm dressed right and then help with setting up."  
"Harry, Ron, are you ready?" Sirius came down the stairs still combing his hair.  
"Yes. We're ready." Harry yawned.  
"Good."  
They all heard a knock at the door.  
"I'll get it."  
"No, don't get up, Harry. Finish your breakfast. I'll get it." Sirius changed his path from heading to the table to heading out toward the front door.  
Ron got up from the table. "I'll see you later, Harry."  
"Aren't you coming with us?"  
"No. I'm getting there by Floo powder. Mum wants me there early."  
"Why aren't we getting there by Floo Powder?"  
"Can't have that many guests all trying to come in through the fireplace in one morning. Everything would be a mess. Later." Ron got up and went to the other room. Harry knew he was gone.  
He heard Sirius call, "Harry! Come out. We're leaving."  
Harry picked up the plates and put them in the sink. He left the house and stepped into the backseat of the Delano's car, next Renata. On the other side of Renata was Hermione. Renata's mum and Sirius were in the front seats. Everyone was dressed for the occasion, wearing dress robes of one color or another.  
Hermione looked across over at him. "What's the matter, Harry? You don't look well."  
Renata laughed, "Harry, if you're getting carsick please stick your head out the window and away from me."  
"I'm not getting carsick. I'm tired."  
Hermione glanced to see that Sirius wasn't listening before she whispered, "Was it nightmares? Did your scar hurt?"  
"No and no."  
"Then what is it?"  
"Waking nightmares," he answered absently, staring out the window.  
"Waking nightmares, what do you mean?"  
"Nothing. I'll tell you about it later."  
"Promise?"  
"I will."  
It may or may not have been coincidence but Sirius turned on the radio and drowned out any chance of further discussion. *********************  
The ceremony and reception were both being held in the Weaslys' yard and sitting on the groom's side, Harry found himself seated amongst more red-haired people than he'd ever seen in one place before. Harry found himself seated between Sirius on his left and Hermione on his right. In front of him, was who Harry assumed to be an aunt of Ron's. Her hair was frizzy and stuck out in many directions and it was difficult for Harry to see much of what was going on up front, but he could hear it.  
"Welcome, friends and family. We are gathered here for a very special occasion, the marriage of Penelope Clearwater and Percy Weasly. They have requested to read their own vows."  
Harry's mind wandered and he listened to a few of the vows Percy and Penelope recited. He didn't listen to most of the ceremony, thoughts of the night before still swirling through his head.  
Finally the man leading the ceremony neared the end and asked, "Are there any objections?" No one answered. "Very well. Then I am no pleased to pronounce you wizard and wife. You may kiss the bride."  
The lady in front of Harry shifted positions and he saw that Percy's ears turned red; obviously he thought it was a little embarrassing to be kissing in public, even if it was wife.  
Harry watched Penelope and Percy walk down the aisle between the guests and the rest who participated in the ceremony walked behind him. The guests cheered and everyone went over to where the refreshments were.  
Ron quickly came and found Harry. He muttered, "I'm glad that's over, Harry. I was so bored."  
Harry said nothing. He watched Hermione and Renata over by the punch bowl. Hermione saw him and came over to them with Renata.  
"Hello. That was a great ceremony, wasn't it?" She smiled. She frowned when she saw his face and pulled him off to the side away from the others. "What's wrong, Harry?"  
"It's nothing, Hermione. Forget it."  
"No. Tell me, maybe I can help."  
"I've gotta sort this out on my own."  
"Alright. But if you need someone to talk to I'm here."  
"I know." But how could she possibly understand all the questions about his parents going through his mind? Still trying to figure out why they had to die.  
Mrs. Weasly came over, cheerful. "Harry! How are you?" she embraced him.  
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasly."  
"Excited about your last year at Hogwarts?"  
"Yes."  
"Good, good." She left to go greet the other guests.  
Harry realized she was right. This would be his last year at Hogwarts. At first this made him really happy. He wouldn't have to deal with Snape, or Draco or the other Slytherins, no more homework.no more place where he felt accepted, the only place where he felt he belonged. He'd be alone in the world: no home, no family, no life. He panicked: what was he going to do? He hadn't given it any thought before. He wouldn't go back to the Dursleys. Not ever. He could live with Sirius but that was something temporary. He had to have some sort of life plan. If he'd ever had one before he didn't know it now.  
What was he going to do after school? He loved playing Quiditch but he didn't want to turn professional, it might take the fun out of the game. He refused to work for the Ministry of Magic. He didn't want to work with the Daily Prophet. He'd stay with Sirius 'til he figured it out. He was not going back to the Dursleys. Ever.  
Harry tried to forget all this and enjoy the rest of the reception but it was difficult to.  
* * *  
Harry had just come back from Renata's house for lunch when Sirius said, "Harry, we have to talk. I've been looking for you."  
Uh-oh, he thought. "What is it?"  
"Harry, I shouldn't have done this, but I did. Come with me."  
"Where are we going?"  
"Just come." Sirius led the way up to his study. "Your answers are behind that door."  
"Sirius, this is just your office. I've been here before. What answers?"  
"Just go in." Sirius opened the door.  
Harry saw Dumbledore, Lupin, and Cornelius Fudge. "What's Fudge doing here?" Harry muttered to Sirius. "I'm not talking to him." Fudge and Harry didn't really see eye to eye often.  
"Harry, I'm here to help, but if you don't want my help I'll leave."  
Sirius's eyes narrowed. "You've caused enough trouble as it is, Fudge, you're not going anywhere."  
"Trouble?" asked Harry.  
"He didn't take action when he should have and now things are out of control," Sirius replied.  
"What Albus said was inconceivable! The fact that You-Know-Who had been reborn and his servants called to him.after all the work it's taken to make things right, it couldn't be happening!"  
Harry's jaw dropped. "Couldn't be happening? Couldn't be happening! I saw it! I told you. I told you three years ago! You were an idiot and didn't want to believe anything could mess up the stupid prejudice world you put back together and you were going to ignore the problem just to keep from being embarrassed."  
"Liar! I'm not prejudice."  
"Yeah, you are. You don't like Muggles, or Muggle-borns, or anybody who likes Muggles. You're against anybody who isn't a pureblood. Hagrid was the kindest guy on Earth and you didn't like them because he was a half- giant. He died because of Voldemort. And there's plenty of guys in the ministry you aren't giving promotions for the same reasons! You're a moron. I mean it. An idiot. Just leave me alone. And don't expect my vote in the upcoming election."  
Fudge Disapperated on the spot, without another word.  
Dumbledore seemed torn between amusement and possibly anger. "Are you sure that was wise, Harry?"  
"I don't care. So why are you here?"  
"Sirius told me you had some questions. I'll answer what I can."  
"Why did Voldemort kill my parents? Why did he try to kill me? Is there anyway we can get rid of Fudge?"  
"Harry, these are all very good questions, but I can't answer them."  
"Why not?"  
"I promised your parents."  
"They knew they were going to die that night?"  
"Well."  
"They knew what would happen?"  
"Not really.I can't explain, Harry. I promised I wouldn't say anything to you. They wanted you to figure it out on your own. They want you to shine of your own light."  
"Shine? What are you talking about? I just want answers."  
"I can't give them to you, Harry. You have to find them for yourself."  
"Just tell me why."  
"You'll know someday, Harry." He sighed. "That's all I wanted to say. I'll see you on Saturday."  
  
The rest of the week passed quickly. Too quickly. Soon Harry found it was Friday night. The Delanos, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and he ate pizza together for dinner and Sirius set off some Filbuster's fireworks for them to all watch. Then everyone went to his or her room (the Hermione and the Delanos went back to their home). Harry was already packed for the morning already. He put on his pajamas and was about to get into bed when Sirius knocked on the door.  
"Mind if I come in?"  
"It's your house." Neither of them spoke for almost two minutes.  
"Harry, what's wrong? You've been upset all week. Is it about me taking you to the cemetery? I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."  
"It's not that."  
"Then what's wrong, Harry? I can't know things unless you tell me. I don't read minds."  
"That's good to know," he muttered.  
"What? You've had some bad luck with mind readers?"  
"Yeah. Renata."  
"Well, what's wrong?"  
"I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, Sirius. After Hogwarts, I mean. I never thought any further than that. And," he hesitated. "How am I supposed to move forward if I don't know what's behind me? I know almost nothing about my parents, I don't know why I'm being chased all these years by Voldemort, and I don't even know who I am. It- I- I just feel clueless sometimes."  
"That's normal, Harry. Everybody feels that way sometimes."  
"Has everybody been stuck living with the Dursleys and lied to for years? Does everyone have a maniac chasing him and trying to kill him?"  
"No, Harry. They don't. I'm sorry I don't have all the answers."  
"So am I. I'm tired, Sirius."  
Sirius knew that Harry actually meant something along the lines of, "Leave me alone I don't want to talk about it anymore." So he stood, walked to the door and quietly said, "I'll see you in the morning, Harry. Get a good night's rest."  
Harry watched Sirius leave and he lay down in bed. It was a long time before he fell asleep. 


	6. Hogwarts in all it's Hogwartiness Glory

When Harry woke-up and looked at the clock he realized how late it was. Harry jumped up, threw open the door, and ran downstairs shouting, "Sirius! Why'd you let me sleep-in so long? We're going to miss the train!"  
"No, we won't. Come have breakfast," he said.  
Ron stumbled down the stairs groggily to join them.  
"Sirius, it's quarter to ten. If we left now I don't think we'd make it to the station on time."  
"We're not driving. A certain number of students are allowed to make reservation to reach King's Cross by Floo Powder. I put Ron's, Hermione's, Renata's, and your names down on the list last June, reservations have to be made that early. Jenny will Apperate there to meet you all."  
"What about you?"  
"I have a meeting in half an hour. I don't think I'll be able to make it to the station. I'll try though."  
Harry wasn't hungry anymore. Sirius had more important things to do than seeing them for the last time before summer? It didn't matter, not really. He'd see him next summer, or maybe Christmas. "I have to go make sure all my things are packed." He trudged upstairs. This sort of hurt; it'd be nice if Sirius showed up at the station, what was so important?  
Harry looked around the room for anything else he wanted. It looked like he had just about everything. Most of the pictures were still on the walls and furniture, but he chose three or four of his favorites and packed them away. He was ready to leave.  
He sat on the bed one last time, wondering if he'd ever come back. He hoped so. Let someone try and stop him! Harry and most wizards and witches usually got to Platform 9¾ by driving to King's Cross station in London and walking through the dividing wall between platforms nine and ten. There the Hogwarts Express would be waiting for them. Harry took one more look over his room before carrying out his trunk and slamming the door.  
Ron and Sirius were waiting by the fireplace.  
Sirius said. "Okay, for students traveling to Platform 9 ¾ times are set for each person. Watch your wristwatch, Harry. Ron, you leave at 10:30, Hermione at 10:33, Renata at 10:36, and Harry, you leave at 10:39. I don't know if the girls are coming over or if they are leaving from Jenny's house. Either way I've got to be going now. I'll try and get to the station in time to see you off. Goodbye, boys." He disappeared.  
Harry kept his eye on his watch. They had ten minutes before the first of them would have to leave. Harry was just sitting down on the couch when someone knocked on the door. "It's open! Come in!" he called.  
Renata and Hermione came in, hauling their things behind them. Hermione panted sarcastically, "Don't get up. We wouldn't dare want to inconvenience you."  
Harry and Ron stood up to help them, it was rather pointless though as they only had a couple yards left. Harry's eyes widened. "You carried these all the way here?" It was at least a couple miles from the Delanos house and the trunks were heavy.  
"No. We drove my mom's car. But still, some help would have been nice."  
Harry looked at his watch, "Goodbye, Ron."  
Ron brought his trunk over to the fireplace and took a pinch of Floo Powder from the lion-head shaped jar and through it into the fire Sirius had started that morning. "Platform 9 ¾!" He vanished into the emerald flames.  
Three minutes later, Hermione did the same.  
Only Harry and Renata were left.  
"So? What's the problem, Harry?"  
"Problem? I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any problems."  
"Yeah. You do. Just like the rest of us do. Just like the rest of the world does."  
"I don't have any problems." He challenged, "What problems do you think I have?"  
"The fact that you've been moping all week. Ever since Sirius brought you back from the place your parents and my dad are buried. How do I know?" She shook her head. "I know, Harry, because you've been looking and acting the same way I did when I came back from there the first time."  
He said nothing. He sat on the couch, with his eyes cast down to the floor; he couldn't look at her. Not while she was stating the truth of things so plainly like that. Like a slap in the face.  
"The cemetery isn't your only problem. Not by a long shot. But, it is tugging at your mind all the time, trying to figure out just why these things happened and what's going to happen next. You're also trying to figure out when you'll be able to stop looking over your shoulder for Voldemort." She shook her head.  
Harry still couldn't answer her.  
"I don't know the answer to those questions. I really don't. But I do know your biggest problem of all: you miss anything that's waiting right under your nose. You miss a lot of what goes on around you. Frankly, I wish you'd wise up a bit and notice things more." Having said her piece, Renata said no more.  
The first thing Harry said was, "You missed your three minutes to get to the station."  
"Did you hear anything I said?"  
Harry stood in front of the fire with his trunk.  
"Move over, I'm coming with you. It won't make a difference," she snapped to him, stepping in front of the fire too.  
Together they said, "Platform 9¾!" and vanished. Harry felt himself whirled through the fire and ricocheted around. Finally it stopped.  
The guard at the gate scolded them, "Only one person through at a time. You know the rules."  
They murmured apologies as they gathered up their things. They found Ron and Hermione waiting by the train.  
The two stopped talking as Harry and Renata approached.  
"Did both of you come through the grate at the same time?"  
"Yeah, we already got lectured by the guard. Let's get on the train," Renata said impatiently.  
"I'm staying for a minute. I want to see if Sirius will show up."  
Renata frowned. "I guess I should wait for my mom too. She did say she'd come."  
"And my mum is going to drop Ginny off here." "All of you stay out here. I'll go find a free compartment for us," volunteered Hermione. "Just wait for your parents. Mine aren't coming, my sister has a tennis game today." She carried her things onto the train and vanished inside.  
Harry watched as both Ms. Delano and Mrs. Weasly appeared to tell their children (and Harry) goodbye and to have a good term. It was five minutes to eleven and Sirius still hadn't shown up. Harry looked around. No sign of him. He saw with disgust that even Draco's parents had stayed to wish their son a good term. Harry wasn't sure why this bothered him so much. He'd survived all this time without parents, it didn't make a difference that his godfather wasn't here now. He boarded the train after one last glance at the station. He went looking from compartment to compartment, searching for his friends. He found them and they must have been able to read his face because they didn't ask about Sirius.  
Hermione stared out the window, Harry sat down across from her with Renata on his left, and Ron across from Renata. They were all quiet for a minute before Hermione said softly, "I can't believe this is our last year at Hogwarts. It's gone by so fast. I'm going to miss it there. Hogwarts feels as much like home as, well, as home does."  
Harry replied, "To me Hogwarts is home. It's a better home than Privet Drive ever was."  
"The Gryffindor House is like having a family at school, sort of," Ron said.  
"Yeah," agreed Renata and the others.  
"What are you going to miss most about school?"  
"Quiditch practice. And seeing all my friends everyday," Harry answered.  
"I'm going to miss-"  
Hermione cut her off. "Wait, we've got the whole year left. We can be sad later. Right now, let's focus on having a great year."  
"You're right. I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be?"  
"We ask the same question every year!" laughed Hermione.  
"I know, and it's never the same person."  
As usual the witch with the snack cart appeared somewhere between one and two o'clock. "Anything, dears?"  
Harry went into the hallway and brought snacks back for his friends. They sat, eating them and talking about the good times they'd all had at Hogwarts. They were about halfway through when Ron said, "Hey, Hermione. You're Head Girl!"  
Harry sputtered. "You just saw her badge? She's been wearing it all day and she brought it up three times this summer."  
Ron mumbled something but Harry couldn't tell what it was.  
Renata changed the subject. "So who's the Head Boy?" Harry could have sworn that she glanced his way but he couldn't be sure.  
Hermione replied, "I don't know. I asked a lot of people but nobody knew. Harry, do you know?"  
Harry reached into his pocket and pinned something on his chest. "Nice to meet you, I'm the Head Boy."  
Ron started laughing. "Just like Percy!" He shook his head, still doubled over, laughing.  
Neville came in. "Hello, everyone."  
Harry was mildly surprised. Neville had hit a growth spurt over the summer. He was probably nearly six inches taller than he had been and his voice was deeper. Inwardly Harry shrugged, of course Neville was going to hit a growth spurt, he'd been due for one for some time now.  
"Mind if I sit down?"  
"Not at all." Renata cleared a place for him. "That's what I forgot to do!"  
"What?" he asked.  
"I meant to invite you over this summer. We all had a really great time."  
"That's okay. I was busy most of the summer anyway."  
They all chatted for a while. It began to get dark outside.  
"I've got to go. I hadn't realized it was so late. I promised Susan I'd go talk to her. I'll see you later."  
"Bye, Neville," they replied.  
Renata said, as if to herself, "He grew up this summer."  
Harry almost questioned her but decided to let it be, for the moment at least.  
When the train eventually slowed to a stop and the voice in the ceiling reminded them to leave their bags on the train, they disembarked. It was raining outside and the sky was dark; the moon and all but one or two stars, covered with dark clouds.  
Professor Snape called, "First years, come this way! Follow me to the boats now or you'll be left behind!" Severus Snape had attended school with Sirius and Harry's father. He and Harry loathed each other. Snape was head of the Slytherin House and Harry despised him from the top of his greasy hair to the bottom of his black robe.  
Harry shuddered. He remembered when it was Hagrid who gathered the first years and took them to Hogwarts in a fleet of little boats across the lake. Hagrid, with his warm, beetle-black eyes, and bone crushing arms that could envelop you in a big bear hug that would crack your ribs. But there wouldn't be anymore Hagrid. Not now.  
Harry and all the others who weren't first years made their way to the horseless carriages and stepped inside. Harry opened the door for Renata and she climbed in first. Next came Hermione, then he and Ron.  
"Do you think the classes are going to be harder?" asked Hermione. "I'm sure they will."  
Ron said to her almost soothingly, "You don't need to worry. You'll get top grades as usual."  
"Thanks. But how can you be so sure?"  
Ron was getting impatient. "Because you always do!"  
Hermione didn't reply this time.  
The carriage eventually pulled to a stop outside the main doors of the castle. The four of them got out of the carriage and together mounted the steps into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Moving as quickly as possible from the carriage to inside to avoid the rain. The Great Hall was decorated in it's usual back to school splendor and was filling steadily with students coming in the doors and taking places at the house table.  
The floor in the entry was wet, as all the students had water dripping off them, Hermione slipped.  
It happened so quickly. One second, Hermione was walking along side them and the next she was on the ground and it looked like she was trying not to cry. Ron was down kneeling on the floor at her side before the other two.  
"Are you okay, Hermione? What happened?"  
"My ankle. I think I sprained it. I slipped on the wet floor." She struggled to stand.  
Harry and Ron helped Hermione off the floor.  
"Come on, we've got to get you to the hospital wing."  
"Can you walk if you put your arms on our shoulders?"  
"I'll try." Together the three limped up to see Madam Pomfrey, with Renata tagging along behind them.  
Madam Pomfrey gave Hermione something for the pain, wrapped her foot up, and gave her some crutches to help her walk before dismissing them to the feast. "And you may want someone to carry your books for you over the next week or so."  
"Alright."  
"Don't worry. I'll carry your books, Hermione," Ron told her. They made it back to the Great Hall and took seats at the Gryffindor table, not far from Parvati and Lavender.  
"We missed the Sorting!" said Hermione, discontentedly.  
New students were sorted into their houses by the Sorting Hat, an ancient wizard's hat given "brains" by Godric Gryffindor, put on each student's head to declare what house was right for them. Harry remembered that the hat had almost put him in Slytherin, almost. Once again he was thankful to be in Gryffindor.  
Hermione looked up at the staff table, apparently counting people. "Short," she muttered.  
Renata asked, "What's that?"  
"Short, I said. We're a few teachers short. I don't see any new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."  
"Maybe he's late."  
"Maybe." But she sounded as doubtful as Harry felt. They started eating the food that had already been sitting on the table when they arrived.  
It was good to catch up with everyone and chat, Seamus and Dean were nearby and discussed major league Quiditch with Ron and Harry. Finally when the plates were at last gleaming gold again Dumbledore stood up.  
"I have a few last announcements to make. Again, we will be enforcing the curfew very strongly this year, I would like to remind you that the Forest on the ground is off-limits as usual and that it will not be tolerated for any spell-casting against another student, and lastly, I regret to announce that this year, there will be no Divination classes. This is because Professor Trelawny has been killed and we've yet to find a replacement professor. For any of you who were supposed have her class this term, that is your free period until further notice, that is, until we can arrange for a new class for you or a new teacher. Thank you."  
Everyone started talking at once.  
Harry heard her whispered conversation between Parvati and Lavender sitting near by. "Dead?"  
"What happened?"  
"Do you think she foresaw it?"  
"She must have been brave face death, knowing it was coming."  
"I bet she saw a Grim. And she knew how she'd die."  
"You're right!"  
Ron couldn't help adding in a mocking tone, "You really think so? She's so noble!"  
Harry couldn't keep from cracking up and he noticed Hermione couldn't either. Ron snickered as Parvati and Lavender scowled at him and then continued their conversation more quietly so he couldn't hear them.  
"Seriously, though. Isn't this a little strange?" asked Harry.  
"How do you mean?"  
"Ron, I know nobody liked Trelawny but I have a hard time believing she was killed for no reason," Harry answered.  
Hermione shrugged, "People die all the time. Everyday someone somewhere is being killed by another person for no good reason. How is this different, Harry? How is this any different"  
"I don't know. I guess you're right. But it still doesn't feel right. I don't understand it."  
"What's there to understand? The old bat's finally croaked," Ron told him bluntly.  
There felt like there was more to it but Harry couldn't explain it. He wasn't sure himself.  
"What's the matter, Harry?"  
"That's just it. I don't know. This all just seems a little suspicious."  
"Then try to forget it, because otherwise you'll keep talking about it and annoying us," Renata snapped at him.  
The tables emptied as full, tired students made their way to their House common rooms and from there to their dormitories. 


	7. Secrets

The sun was already bright when Harry woke up; he hadn't gotten much rest as he'd been disturbed in the middle of the night by a strange dream and hadn't gotten back to sleep until the early hours of the morning. He smiled drowsily as he looked around the room at the familiar surroundings. He saw the other four large four-poster beds, covered with scarlet bedclothes and canopies, the trunks of his roommates at the end of each bed, and everything else he was used to seeing.  
He rubbed his head as he stood to get dressed and he thought about his dream. He had seen images of himself year after year, gradually growing older and older, until he became an old man. He saw images of his friends too. Getting older and older but unlike him, they left Hogwarts and got careers and families. The details of these careers and families weren't important or real clear, just the fact that they existed. At the end of the dream, he died, an old man and still a student at Hogwarts taking classes and writing homework. Hogwarts. Funny, as much as he detested homework and some students and a few teachers Hogwarts was the place he wanted to stay. Forever. Maybe. There was something comforting about the familiar corridors, and knowing what teachers to avoid, how to command a Quiditch team, and that he was safe here. There was no doubt about life at Hogwarts; he went to classes and Quiditch practice. Life was fairly peaceful. But he couldn't stay here forever. Not really. He gave a final, rueful sigh before slamming the door shut to go off in search of his friends.  
He didn't find them in the common room. No one was there, in fact.  
"Hello? Where is everybody?" There was no answer; it would have greatly surprised him if there had been. He left the Tower and went back down to the Great Hall to see if they were eating breakfast.  
Owing to the late hour that was somewhere between breakfast and lunch there was hardly anyone there. Ron, Renata, and Hermione weren't among the ones who were. He went outside to look for them, searching around the lake, a few students were milling around the lake and the grounds outside but his friends were not among them.  
He furrowed his brow in concentration trying to think of where they would be. He sat in the shade of a tree to help him think, it was getting warmer outside. He took off his sweater. Where could they be?  
A voice in his mind spoke and it sounded somewhere between Draco Malfoy and Dudley Dursley, it had Draco's coldness and Dudley's taunting. Maybe they're tired of you. Didn't think of that, did you, Potter? They spent the summer with you. Isn't that enough to make anyone sick? Harry glared at the ground in front of him. No! His friends wouldn't do that to him. They wouldn't just get tired of him. Maybe Ron had heard him wake up in the middle of the night and known that Harry would be tired in the morning. Or Renata. She had not been in the room of course but sometimes she knew things, especially about Harry, without anyone telling her and for no reason. He continued to glare at the ground. He remembered Hermione's fall the day before. They would probably go wherever she wanted. He grinned, not hard to guess her favorite part of the school: the library. Hermione lived for books. Renata seemed almost the same on occasion.  
He got up to make his way back up the stairs to the library. He found it to be abuzz with students, which in itself was unusual. Apparently people of all houses had things to discuss and the library was a good place to discus them, if they could be quiet enough to suit Madam Pince's standards.  
He passed Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors talking earnestly. He heard snatches of conversations.  
"What do you think is going to happen?"  
"I don't know. It can't be good."  
He moved on past that table and was about to pass by another when he stopped in his tracks.  
"Will You-Know-Who attack?" asked a shy-looking girl with a single dark ponytail.  
"Never! Not in a million years while Dumbledore is here," replied a young boy at the table.  
"Are you mad? I'm not sure even Dumbledore can stop him." This boy was older than the first and he looked worried. His was brow full of lines and cares.  
"You-Know-Who wants to kill Harry. Everybody knows it. Couldn't we just give him up?" asked the shy-looking girl.  
Most everyone at the table, there were probably a half dozen or so of them, glared at her.  
"I think you're the one who's mad."  
"Why?" she pouted.  
"Because!" replied another girl. "He's Harry Potter. He's the one that killed Voldemort the first time and ended the Dark Days. He can kill him again. I know it."  
"Besides," said one of the boys, "He's really good at Quiditch."  
"I don't know. Do you think he'll survive the fight?" said one.  
"Fight?" asked another.  
The girl lowered her voice and Harry crept closer to hear.  
"The prophecies! I learned them when I was young. It was part of my mother's work."  
"What does your mother do?"  
"That's not important. So I learned a lot of them. And one of them mention the final battle between a Dark Lord and a boy who would save the world."  
"Oh come off it. You can't really believe a prophecy. It's just mumbo jumbo."  
"It is not!" she protested. "Do you know how many of the other prophecies came true? I'll tell you-"  
"But if the prophecies were true," asked one student who, 'til then, had been silent. She was obviously choosing her words carefully so as to offend no one but still say what she meant to. She looked familiar, a little younger than Harry, but he couldn't place her. "Then would Harry Potter be the boy? He's nearly graduated. He'll be 18 by next July and next September he won't even be back at school. I'd say he was almost a man if age has to do with anything. So if the prophecies are true the last battle comes soon."  
Harry saw the circle of people shiver, except the speaker. He didn't stay to listen longer. He couldn't. His knees were weak but he concentrated on looking for his friends.  
When he found them they were near the window at the far end of the library, near the windows.  
Hermione's crutches were propped against the wall and she sat with Ron and Renata. They had some books out, but had apparently been doing more discussing than researching, whatever it was that they were researching. For some reason they hid the books at his arrival, Renata and Hermione leaning over the table and covering them with their arms and Ron dropping his behind the chair.  
Hermione remarked, "Harry, you look as though you've seen a ghost."  
Renata laughed and Harry could understand why though he couldn't bring himself to laugh. Though "looking like he'd seen a ghost" would be the appropriate Muggle expression for the way he probably appeared, it was quite inappropriate at Hogwarts. At Hogwarts there were many fine resident ghosts including Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw, and Professor Binns the history of magic professor.  
Renata's mum had made sure that she had had a more than a fair amount of exposure to Muggles because as Renata had told Ron when he'd asked about why she gave the answer her mum had "We share this world". Hermione was also well aware of what she'd said, after she'd said it of course. She was a Muggle-born. Her parents didn't have a drop of magic in their blood but she was an oddity that had turned up in the family. Harry, like Hermione, had grown up thinking magic was nonsense until they finally each got a letter from Hogwarts at age 11. Though his parents were both magical he had been raised as a Muggle. Only Ron was in the dark, quite unaware of most aspects of Muggle life and culture; though his father was fascinated by Muggles and liked to collect plugs and batteries.  
At any rate their laughter died on their lips. Harry frowned at his friends. "What are those books you're trying to hide?" At this point his saw the girls lean in further, perhaps somewhat unconscious of what they were doing.  
"Nothing," Renata said casually.  
"What books?" Ron demanded, raising his arms to show he hid nothing.  
"Come off it. You know I'm not blind. Let me see that book, Renata."  
"I don't know what you're talking about." She kept a straight face.  
He went for the least able liar. "Hermione, I know you have a book under your arms. You can't possibly deny it."  
"You don't need to see this book, Harry. It's nothing important," she protested, leaning down harder on the book and completely covering from sight.  
He insisted, "Let me see it. Now."  
"No, Harry," Renata told him firmly. She stared at him with hard eyes. "You don't need to see these books and we will not show them to you. So forget it." She waited a fraction of a second longer before suddenly standing and saying, "Ron, he's going to try and take your book!"  
She said this in the nick of time for Ron to snatch the book Harry had just been plotting to grab.  
Harry glowered at Renata. "You were reading my mind again! Weren't you?" He hated when she did that.  
She glared right back at him. "I did not! Not this time."  
"Then how did you know?"  
"I." Her face fell. "I just did," she muttered. She said no more about the subject but scrambled to another. "So why did you look so strange when you came over here?"  
He avoided the question. "Why didn't any of you tell me where you'd be this morning?"  
"We're not your dogs. We don't have to report to you whenever we're going to go somewhere," she told him coldly.  
"I never said you were!" he started to go red in the face, but he wasn't sure whether it was embarrassment or anger, probably both.  
"So, are you going to sit down and give us an explanation or not?"  
He hesitated. He didn't want to tell them. But they were all staring at him. He only had two choices: speak or leave. He hesitated a moment longer before sitting down. "Do any of you know about the prophecies of the Dark Lord and the boy who saves the world?"  
Ron and Renata shook their heads. Hermione cast her eyes at the table, not looking at Harry.  
Harry noticed this. "Hermione, this is really important. What do you know?"  
"Nothing. Nothing. I.I have to be going."  
"Hermione?"  
"Yeah?" She still didn't look at him.  
Harry knew she couldn't and wouldn't stare him in the face right now. "Never mind. I'll see you later. Ron, Renata, I'm going to be going too. I'll see you later."  
Hermione had already left the library. Harry turned to leave when Renata rose and said, "We're not through with you yet, Harry."  
He took two or three steps and stopped dead. He could feel Renata's eyes on his back.  
"Harry, if you're going to go look for Hermione and try and get her to talk, forget it."  
"I'm not." He still stood with his back to her.  
"Look at me, Harry. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you're not going to look for her."  
He turned and with an effort kept her gaze as he told her, "I'm not going to look for Hermione. I'm going for a walk."  
She studied him another moment or so after the words had left his mouth and nodded, satisfied that he'd told the truth. "Fine. Go. Leave us alone."  
Harry was glad to get away. He couldn't bear to stand another moment there. He walked through the library, and a lot of the people who had been there when he came in were still there, but that one table he had paused near on his way to look for his friends was now empty. * * * * * * * * * *  
After lunch, Harry couldn't find Ron or Renata. He wasn't too upset. He didn't want them asking questions. He had a lot to think about. Prophecies. Prophecies couldn't be real. No one believed anything about Destiny, did they? No one but bats like Trelawny ever believe anything about prophecies and telling the future. Or did they? Harry was confused. He needed time to think, but he was afraid he wasn't going to have it. He sat in the common room that night, withdrawn and staring into the flames of the fire, contemplating. He'd have to do some research and it would have to be on his own.  
Harry glanced up at the door every so often, waiting for Hermione to come. She'd been in the library all evening; he knew that's where she'd been. He had paid close attention at lunch and watched where she went after leaving the table and he couldn't mistake the purposeful look of her face when she limped off on her crutches in the direction of the library. A few hours later he'd checked in on her at the library, careful that he didn't see her and again an hour after dinner he checked. She was still there, but he'd no idea why. Renata had probably spent most of the day on the Quiditch field but he couldn't say it for a fact. Ron had likely been with Renata; discussing the conversation from that morning.  
Ron and Renata entered the common room together and stayed a few minutes, not talking to Harry, before going up the separate staircases.  
Finally Hermione showed up.  
He knew he'd have to be careful in approaching Hermione. If he said the wrong thing she might not speak to him, and he had to know what she knew. Whatever that was.  
He didn't approach her. He knew she'd come sit at a chair opposite of him. She did, and he waited.  
"Harry." She said nervously.  
He looked up at her.  
"I don't really want to tell you but I know that you need to know." She took a few breaths of air. "I have heard about the Prophecies. It was a book I was reading in the library."  
"What book, Hermione? You don't have to tell me about the Prophecies. I'll read them myself."  
"You can't. After I returned the book Madam Pince was so shocked that it had been in the library in the first place and that I'd been allowed to check it out, she did something drastic."  
"She put it in the restricted section?"  
"Worse." She sighed miserably. "She took out her wand and made the book burst into flames."  
Harry's eyes widened. Madam Pince went crazy if so much as a drop of ink was spilt on one of her books or a single page torn, her destroying one on purpose made no sense. "Why?"  
"I'm not sure. She said it was unfit for student eyes."  
"Two years ago."  
"So you don't remember the Prophecies?"  
"I.I wrote them down. They sounded important." She reached into her pocket and extracted a neatly folded square of paper. "It's been sitting at the bottom of my trunk all this time. Read the paper. Don't give it back to me. Tear it and throw it out the window. Burn it in the fireplace. Don't give it to me." She rose and quickly departed.  
The common room was nearly empty. Harry stared at the square of paper in his hands. It had gone yellow with age. He opened it to reveal Hermione's tidy printing.  
"The Prophecies of the Boy to Destroy the Dark Lord, the Man Reborn. The Dark Lord can only be destroyed by an inferior with something more. A young man with wisdom beyond his years, gone through too much heartache to know fear, heard too much to be able to still hear. The Boy to fight will be called the Lion's Warrior and the People's Protector. Not yet of an age with manhood he is a boy to destroy. Only with companions 5 can he remain alive though he resist help to the bitter end. 1 of the 5 will be lost forever before the end. An orphan young he was born to die, as were his parents, but he must survive, else all will die. Parents, Protectors of the Night, gave their lives in the line of duty knowing they would save us all. The Boy to Save us will be Crowned King of all if he wins and lives to tell the tale, but doomed to torment eternally if he does not." He stared at the paper. "What does any of this mean? It's all gibberish."  
He stared at his hands for a few moments wondering what it could all possibly mean. None of it made any sense. Protectors of Night? Lion's Warrior? He'd never heard these titles. He she was inches from his face by the time he realized she was there.  
"Harry?"  
He gave a start. "Huh? What are you doing up? I.I thought you were already in bed." His face colored with guilt, he tried to hide the piece of paper by putting it in his pocket. He only got it halfway in.  
"That was a trick, Harry. You should know me better than that. I knew as well as you did that Hermione would come here and give you some sort of information she'd hidden from the rest of us and I mean to find out what it is. I just had to wait for her to go to sleep. Tell me about the Prophecies."  
"Not so loud. The other people." He waved in a vague direction to the left where a few stragglers had been earlier. "How did you know I'd still be here?"  
"Because, I know you too well, Harry. I know you maybe better than you know yourself. I more or less know how your mind works. I knew that after Hermione left you would be too preoccupied to go to bed despite the fact that we have school tomorrow. And there are no other people here, Harry. Just us."  
He looked around and saw that she was right. The common room had emptied. "Oh." Suddenly he realized just how empty the room was, just him and Renata. He scooted his chair back toward the fire a few inches. "Give me some breathing room, will ya?"  
She didn't step back at all; on the contrary, she stepped forward. "No. Not until you let me see that paper."  
"No. You're not looking at it." The truth was that he needed somebody to talk to about it. Ron wouldn't understand it anymore than he would and Hermione wasn't going to speak about it. But he was not just going to hand the paper over. "You can't have it, Renata."  
"Harry, I'm going to get that paper sooner or later. Just hand it over."  
Harry knew that it was inevitable but still he delayed. "No, Renata."  
She finally backed away, but not far. She took the chair opposite of him and moved it right next to him. "Okay, you have options. But not many. One, you can give me the paper now and let me read it and save you a lot of grief. Two, you can refuse to give me the paper and I'll take out my wand and curse you, jinx you, and hex you until you give me the paper or I can take it of my own free will. Trust me, you won't like that last option because I don't know all the counter-curses and I intend to have fun hexing and not pay attention to what I know or don't know."  
"I don't have to take this, Renata. You've no right to see this paper about the prophecies so you aren't going to see it. I'm leaving. I'll see you in class." Harry tried to stand and found he couldn't.  
He saw that Renata had her wand out and was muttering. His legs wobbled if he stood and he collapsed back in the chair. Jelly-legs. He knew the counter-curse. Where was his wand?  
"Accio!"  
His wand came sailing out of his pocket and landed in Renata's outstretched hand. "Give up?" She asked in a too-sweet voice.  
"No."  
"Have it your way. I discovered a very interesting effect caused by crossing Jelly Legs with another spell."  
Harry missed the words of the spell but he knew the effect. When he tried to stand again it felt like all parts of him connected to the chair, were connected by bubblegum. He couldn't even stand; the invisible "gum" wouldn't allow it. "Let me up, now!"  
"Shut-up. You're going to wake everyone up. Give me the paper." She went to his chair and took the page, meanwhile cruelly holding Harry's wand just out of his reach. She settled into her seat and as she read the words her eyes got wide. But soon her normal expression returned, along with a satisfied smile. "See? Was that so bad? I managed to get the paper with out putting you in any pain. I could have."  
"I have no doubt you would have."  
"Someone's going to die. But you're going to have help. Five.you don't count, then Ron, that's 1; Hermione, that's 2; and of course me, that makes 3. Who are the others?"  
"You're not going to help do anything. First of all that stupid thing isn't even about me and if it were, you wouldn't be allowed to help. I'm not letting any of you get hurt on my account."  
"Yes, but you see, you don't have any say in the matter. It says here you're going to resist any help. Just like you always do. This sounds encourage, you win and live you'll be crowned King, you live and lose and you'll face eternal torture. It doesn't give the options about if you die. Although I suppose you could die and win and I'm fairly sure you can die and lose. Did Hermione tell you anything about this or the book it came from?"  
"No," he told her through gritted teeth.  
She looked at him for a long minute that seemed to be an eternity. "You're lying." She reached in her pocket and approached his chair.  
Harry saw her take a vial of liquid out of her pocket. He closed his mouth but he couldn't stop her pinching his nose and jamming the vial between his teeth as she tilted his head back when he had to open his mouth to breathe.  
She didn't let going of Harry's nose or head until she was sure he'd swallowed all of it.  
"I'm just going to ask you a question or two. Is that all right with you?"  
"No."  
"Too bad. Question one: What did Hermione tell you about the book she got that from?"  
"She told me that Madam Pince burned it when she returned it to the library."  
"Did she tell you the title?"  
"No."  
"Did she tell you the author?"  
"No." He said this with a certain amount of satisfaction; he still frustrated her despite her attempts.  
"I'm trying to decide whether or not I should ask my last question." She had a wicked gleam in her eyes as if whatever the question was; he wasn't going to like it. He doubted he would.  
"Don't." He shook his head hoping his protest would come to some affect.  
"Now let's see. I laced that truth potion with a sleeping draught. I wonder if I'll have time to hear your answer before you drift off. That will be any minute or so. I guess I won't ask you. Goodnight." She got up and started toward the girls' staircase.  
"What about me?"  
"Oh. The spell binding you to the chair will wear off sometime in the night. You'll get your wand back at breakfast." She waved her own wand and some blankets appeared on top of Harry. "Better?"  
He had to admit that he was.  
"Good. Then I'll see you at breakfast."  
"What about the truth potion?"  
"I haven't the faintest idea when that will wear off." She grinned and left before he could say another word.  
Harry couldn't have said another word if he had wanted to. The sleep potion was strong, he only hoped he didn't oversleep the next morning.  
  
* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *  
  
Author's Note: Okay I know all this business about Prophecies makes it sound like the Rowling's Order of the Phoenix business but I swear this stuff was written before that came out. The next couple chapters were written before that too. 


	8. Date

Harry was woken by someone shaking him gently but instantly. "Come on, get up. Now. Wake up. Wake up. Get up, Harry. Wake up."  
Harry rubbed his eyes and found it was Ron waking him up.  
Harry began to talk, "Do you know what Renata did last night? When you and Hermione were gone she came down here and when I wouldn't give her a piece of paper she started hexing me and then-"  
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Who do you think helped her plan it?"  
"I thought she was working alone."  
"No. Now we've got to get you upstairs before the others wake up. Last night when you didn't come I told them you were finishing your summer homework. Come on." Ron pushed and pulled Harry up the stairs, forced him into pajamas and told him to get in bed for another couple hours of sleep. It was 4:30 in the morning. Ron went back downstairs to get the blankets Renata had put over Harry and he had the paper with the Prophecies too. Harry saw Ron stuff the blankets under his bed and put the parchment under his pillow, he obviously did not mean Harry to have it before he had a look at it.  
Harry fell asleep again, fervently hoping the affects of the truth potion would be gone by morning.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Harry woke up and the first the he did was ask Ron to ask him his name.  
"What's your name, Harry?"  
"My name is.George. Yes! It's over."  
Seamus groaned, "What are you babbling about?"  
"Nothing," Harry said hastily.  
Ron however, said, "Oh, Harry's just too embarrassed to tell you. Somebody thought up a great prank and decided to slip a truth potion in Harry's pumpkin juice last night at dinner."  
Harry could feel his face go red and turned away from the others, pretended to look for his shoes; though he knew Ron's story was better than if Ron had told the truth.  
Dean sat up in his bed, "That's too bad. If it hadn't warn of we could have asked you some questions about Renata."  
They were all very much awake now and everyone laughed in agreement, everyone except Harry. "How many times do I have to tell you that we are not dating anymore?"  
Neville leaned around one of his bedposts to look at Harry, "And how many times do we have to tell you that you should be? It's obvious you both still like each other."  
"No we don't. There's nothing going on."  
"Deny it all you want but it's true."  
Harry didn't wait for Hermione Renata down in the common room but the boys from his dormitory followed, keeping up the debate with him.  
Harry saw Malfoy. The look on Malfoy's face told Harry that he'd overheard. That was all he needed, Malfoy already on his case and not even back in class yet. Unfortunately for Harry, his friend's surrounded him at the table.  
"Ask her out."  
"No." He poked at the eggs on his plate.  
"Harry, don't make us ask her for you."  
"Heck, I'm not going to ask her for him, I want to ask her for myself. Renata looks good and if Harry's dumb enough not to take her, I want her. She's pretty, smart and good at Quiditch. What more do you want?"  
"Take her and keep her, Seamus. I don't want her. She's as stubborn and mean as a Hippogriff, and she's more likely to curse you than Malfoy is. She's just my friend." But if you dare break her heart you are going to regret it and wish you were never born! I'll make sure of it. Wait, where did that thought come from? He shook the thought from his head. "Somebody pass down the schedules."  
Seamus looked at him, "Don't think I won't take you up on that offer."  
Neville passed him a schedule. "Here you go, Harry."  
"Thanks."  
When he and Ron reached Transfiguration, his first class, he found Renata and Hermione waiting for them.  
"We saved you seats. Sit down."  
Ron took one look at Renata, and doubled over laugh silently so that he had to sit down.  
"What is it? What's so funny? SHUT-UP and tell me what's so funny!" Renata screamed at him.  
Ron shook his head helplessly and gestured to Harry in a manner that asked him to explain it. Harry shook his own head and made a shrug to Ron to solve the problem himself.  
Ron was nearly breathless, "It's a guy thing. You wouldn't understand unless you'd heard our conversation this morning. Right, Harry?"  
"I'm staying out of this."  
"Harry, what did you and Ron say?"  
"It wasn't just Ron and I. In fact, I was defending you. I didn't say anything."  
"Defending me? Like I need defending. Pah! You disgust me, you self- centered, egotistical, brat."  
"Hey, I'm not the one that wants to date you. That was Seamus."  
Ron said, "Yeah, you just told him for all you cared you didn't care if he married her."  
"I never said that."  
Renata tilted her head, "So you do care?"  
Harry sputtered, "T-t-that's not what I meant and you know that!"  
"Class! Settle down, now! Silence!" Professor McGonagall's voice brought immediate silence and everyone scrambled to his or her seat. Professor McGonagall was the head of the Gryffindor House. She was fair, but she was extremely strict. She wore her hair in a severe looking bun and peered down at them through her glasses. "Take out your books and anything you need for notes. Today we will begin with complete human transformations." This was not strictly true, because they would be taking notes for a month and working on some small things before they actually began transforming people.  
After class, Harry watched as Renata approached Seamus Finnigan in the hallway with her wand out hand her hands on her hips. This would be dangerous for Seamus, Harry stood by to watch. This would be fun.  
"So." She said.  
"So?"  
"So I heard you wanted to ask me on a date."  
"I? Did I say that? I.er.well the thing is, Harry said that he didn't want to have anything to do with you and I told him he was being stupid because any guy would be lucky to have you. I'm sorry he wanted to just throw you away. I thought you deserved better and I just decided to mention it. That's all. Really." He looked at his friends for help and no one offered any.  
Harry had no sympathy. Why had Seamus dragged him into it? Ron looked close to laughing and Dean and Neville looked clueless as to what to say.  
"So is that a yes or a no to the date?" she asked.  
"If you wanted to go out I would."  
"Alright. When?"  
He seemed to flounder for an answer. "The first Hogsmeade weekend? I'll meet you for lunch in the Three Broomsticks."  
"Okay. Goodbye." She didn't leave but instead crossed her arms and watched him, Neville, and Dean leave. She started laughing once they were out of earshot. "Did you see their faces? Ha! That was fun. A good first day back."  
Hermione came and stood bye her. "So you really mean to go out with him?"  
Renata glanced at Ron, but her gaze rested on Harry as she answered. "Sure, I will. Unless anyone has any objections."  
"I certainly don't object. Seamus doesn't look half bad and he's a very nice boy," Hermione told her.  
"Not me, Seamus is a good guy. I just didn't know he was interested in you," Ron told her.  
"Harry?"  
"Oh. No objections here. Do whatever you want. I couldn't care less."  
"Okay. Then I will."  
"Fine."  
"Fine."  
"Goodbye!"  
"Goodbye!"  
Harry stalked off and heard Ron say to Hermione, "That was interesting."  
"Yeah. They'll stop fighting it one of these days."  
Harry stopped listening and moved farther away. He went to Gryffindor Tower to put away his Transfiguration books. What was all that about? He shouldn't have felt jealous. And it had felt that Renata had confronted, or rather cornered, Seamus like that just to make Harry jealous. It didn't make sense. He couldn't see the picture in this game of connect the dots.  
Harry switched his books and made his way to his History of Magic class.  
History of Magic was a dull class and the only class taught by a ghost. It was so boring that even Hermione had trouble staying awake. 


	9. Games

That night in the common room Harry and Ron were sitting and talking quietly and none too happily.  
Nearly Headless Nick came over, after maybe noticing their glum expressions. "Why the long faces? Where are your friends Hermione and Renata?"  
They shook their heads.  
"Ah, trouble with the ladies? Perhaps I may be of some assistance. I used to be something of a lady's man; and I believe I heard something today that may help you or be of interest."  
"We'd be glad of your help, Nick."  
"All right. Well, I saw Renata speaking with Seamus Finnigan. Apparently he is a decoy to make another boy jealous. She told him. 'I am sorry I embarrassed you earlier, actually, I'm not really sorry but I was wondering if you would do me a favor. You see, see I need help getting a little revenge and making a certain scar-headed boy a little green-eyed.' I was rather surprised at her but she hadn't seen me at the time so I left and didn't listen to the rest but I think they kept talking. The young man could hardly get a word in edgewise. I just thought these things might interest you. What do you make of them?"  
"Oh, I don't know," shrugged Harry. He was lying of course. "Thanks, though. Could you let me know if you hear anything else like it?"  
"Certainly. I must be going now though. The Friar was wishing to have a word with me." Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington was the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower. He'd been hit in the neck 42 times with a blunt axe causing him to be nearly headless. The Fat Friar was the resident ghost of Hufflepuff, a jolly fat man.  
"Bye, Nick."  
"What do you think that was about?" asked Ron.  
"I dunno."  
"Harry, you know what it was about."  
"Why would Renata want to make me jealous?"  
"Because she still likes you and we all know that you're still crazy about her. But she's not about to admit it until you do and she thinks this is a discreet way to test you and see if you like her."  
"What makes you think I still like her? And how would you know what Renata is thinking?"  
"It's obvious. Besides, I've got five older brothers. I can tell when somebody likes somebody."  
"Then you know who still really likes you?"  
Ron was genuinely stunned. "What?"  
Harry laughed. "The very same brown-haired know-it-all that you call a friend is still crazy about you."  
Ron's eyes widened, "You don't mean.you can't possibly mean.not.Hermione? Aw, but what would she see in a guy like me? She dumped me, remember?"  
"You're loyal, hardworking, honest, funny, nice, what wouldn't she like about you?"  
"I'm not her type. I'm not Anthony Bordeaux or Victor Krum." Anthony went to Beauxbatons Academy and Victor had gone to Durmstrang Institute. They were both boys that for one reason or another had come to Hogwarts and taken a romantic interest in Hermione.  
Suddenly Harry had a revelation and it all made sense. "Those guys were nothing. Hermione must have been doing what Renata is trying to do now: make you jealous."  
"You think so?"  
"Yeah."  
Ron seemed a little happier now but Harry still wasn't sure what to do about Renata. 


	10. Defense Against the Dark Arts

Wednesday morning was the first time Harry and his friends had their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. None of the other classes had been willing to tell them who the new teacher was.  
They settled into their seats. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Renata all in a row, waiting for their professor.  
"Professor Dumbledore? Is the professor teaching our class ill today?" Hermione asked the Headmaster.  
"I'm no worse than usual. You see, I shall teach this class this year. Now, you all have a lot to learn and not much time to do it in. This is your final year at Hogwarts and it is important for you all to know the risks you will be facing daily upon leaving this safe haven we like to call a school. Any questions before we get started?"  
Dean raised his hand. "If you're the professor, Professor, then who is going to be the Headmaster?"  
"I am. I am capable of doing two things at once. If I pay close enough attention I can even walk and talk at the same time. If there are no further questions we shall begin. First off, let us start with corruption in government and recognizing it. You will all soon be participating in our government and it's important for you to know what you are dealing with and what you need to expect. The Ministry has led us astray before, and now more than ever you young adults need to be aware of what it is that you will face. Now, everyone, I am sure you are all aware of who our current Minister of Magic is. Can anyone tell me?"  
Every hand shot up. The new minister had been elected the year before and they all knew who it was despite the fact that they had nothing to do with the election process. Mundungus Fletcher. Personally, Harry and Ron didn't trust the man but still being students they had no say in the matter.  
"Very good. It's surprising how many young people often don't read the paper. You must learn to read between the lines and never bluntly accept what you are told. It is imperative for you to understand this. Within the walls of your homes and the walls of Hogwarts you have been well- protected."  
Harry snorted. Nearly being killed was well protected?  
Dumbledore looked sharply at him but then his face softened and so did his voice, "Most of the time. But you are children no longer. You must forge your own path in life and that's what this class is about. Survival. How many of you will be here 5 months from now if things with Voldemort get out of hand? I'm here to open your eyes. Is there anyone here who does not wish to continue listening to me speak this way? You don't have to."  
Parvati and Lavender raised their hands. They'd gone pale while Dumbledore had been speaking. "I don't want to hear this!" whispered Lavender.  
Dumbledore nodded. "I knew not everyone would feel up to this." He took out two pairs of pink sunglasses, earplugs, and two slim books entitled "Defending Yourself Against the Worst". "Here you go, girls. These are rose-colored glasses and these are Bad Thought Earplugs. The rose- colored glasses will make everything seem normal. The earplugs will allow you to do your work and think that I'm up here teaching what's in that book. Please do chapter 1 and answer the questions at the end of it."  
They hesitated before putting the earplugs in their ears and putting on the rose-colored glasses but they did it and began on the work Dumbledore assigned them.  
"As I was saying, this is a survival class. I have nine months to teach you how to live. Are you ready?" There was an intensity in Dumbledore's eyes that Harry had rarely seen. It sent chills up his spine. "Those that would fight against you have no rules. They will fight to win at any cost, but if you follow their example you are no better than they are. Remember that always. A life gone can never be regained, nothing cures death."  
At the end of the lesson Dumbledore asked Harry to stay.  
"I feel it only fair to warn you of what you will be facing this year, Harry. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this will by far be your most difficult year. I know already that dispite all my precautions he will find you. Be ready."  
"Yes, Professor."  
"Take this. You need only sound it and I will come to your aid at need." He handed Harry a curious looking whistle shaped rather like a miniature version of the hunting horns used back in the medieval days, no bigger than a whistle. It appeared to be made of bone or horn and engraved with silver and it hung upon a fine silver chain. "It will make no noise but I shall know."  
Harry's mouth had gone dry and he barely croaked out the words, "Thank you, sir."  
"Tell no one of the horn. But know this too, Harry: the last battle approaches."  
Harry nodded. A final fight between he and Voldemort. Ever since his fourth year he'd known that it would only be a matter of time.  
  
**************************************** Alright, I'm kind of winging now. I've past the stuff I wrote months ago so everything from here on out is fresh. Hope you're enjoying this. Read and Review as always. 


	11. Ponderings

Harry got up early on Saturday morning, careful not to wake anyone else in the dorm. He had something to do and the best place to go and think without anyone disturbing you was when you were soaring fifty feet high in the air and going roughly 70 miles per hour or so.  
Here he was free. Free to think. And he certainly had enough to think about.  
He thought back to the Prophecies he'd learned about. He repeated them to himself now, "The Prophecies of the Boy to Destroy the Dark Lord, the Man Reborn. The Dark Lord can only be destroyed by an inferior with something more. A young man with wisdom beyond his years, gone through too much heartache to know fear, heard too much to be able to still hear. The Boy to fight will be called the Lion's Warrior and the People's Protector. Not yet of an age with manhood he is a boy to destroy. Only with companions 5 can he remain alive though he resist help to the bitter end. 1 of the 5 will be lost forever before the end. An orphan young he was born to die, as were his parents, but he must survive, else all will die. Parents, Protectors of the Night, gave their lives in the line of duty knowing they would save us all. The Boy to Save us will be Crowned King of all if he wins and lives to tell the tale, but doomed to torment eternally if he does not." Harry sighed. If this was him, he was not looking at a happy future. What happened to a peaceful life?  
He meditated on this as he flew around in loops and circles. The closest thing to a "peaceful" or "normal" life would be between ages 1-10. When he turned eleven he got his Hogwarts letter and it was from that moment on that his life was upside-down. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he wouldn't lose the past seven (well now it's seven) years at Hogwarts for anything. It was here that he made his first friends. Here that he learned about who he was. Here that he'd nearly died several times. Here. It was all here and he didn't want to leave.  
But what was he going to do when the final battle came? Could he kill someone? Even if it was Voldemort? Death was forever.  
He grew angry. His parents were dead for forever. Hagrid was dead for forever. For their sake, if no one else's, when the time came he knew he'd do what he had to do.  
He did a couple more lazy laps around the field. The Quiditch team should be pretty good this year. No new players. He'd be taking the N.E.W.T.s in June.  
He wondered too why someone had wanted to kill a bat like Trelawney.  
Dumbledore's class. That was something else. He hadn't been expecting anything like that. His hand went to his throat where the little hunting horn whistle hung on its chain.  
He spied a figure far below him on the field, as he'd been circling he'd gain altitude. He made a gentle descent from a hundred feet up in the air and landed beside her. Even from a hundred feet in the sky, he'd known it was Renata Delano. She always seemed to know where he was, how he was feeling, and what he was thinking.  
"Hey," he said, leaning on his broom.  
"Good morning."  
"How'd you find me?"  
"I don't know. I just knew you'd be here and sure enough." she shrugged. "I know. I just always know."  
"You've been thinking about Defense Against the Dark Arts?"  
"Yeah. You?"  
"Yeah."  
They were silent. Harry looked at Renata and he knew that he wouldn't trade his years at Hogwarts for anything. He said suddenly, "I don't want you to die."  
"What?" she blinked.  
"I don't want you to die. When people hang out with me they die."  
"Ron's not dead and you've been friends with him for seven years now," she laughed.  
"Yeah, but."  
"I'll be fine, Harry." She patted him on the shoulder and froze. "You were thinking about the Prophecy, weren't you?"  
He nodded. She knew. She always knew.  
"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me."  
"I worry anyway. The last battle is coming. I'm going to have to face him, you know."  
"I know. The worry is all over your face. You look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."  
"I am, though."  
"We're here for you, Harry. You don't have to do this alone. We'll always be here for you. Never forget that."  
"I know." He was lying, there was no way he'd let his friends get hurt trying to help him, but at the same time he knew that they would be there for him no matter what. Just as they'd always been there for him.  
Renata chewed lip nervously. "Are you going to stand there all day?"  
"What?"  
"I asked if you were going to stand there all day. It's high time for some breakfast! I'm surprised you haven't heard how loud my stomach's been growling." She led him back inside the castle to where Ron and Hermione were eating their breakfast and had saved them seats.  
"Why did Trelawny get killed?" asked Harry, his brow furrowed.  
"I haven't the foggiest idea."  
"Maybe she knew too much," said Harry.  
"Maybe."  
"Well, Harry, maybe you should ask Dumbledore. That'd be the logical thing to do, wouldn't it?" said Hermione, in a reasonable tone.  
"Yeah. I guess."  
"So ask him after the next Defense Against the Dark Arts class."  
"Maybe I will."  
"Where were you all morning anyway, Harry?" asked Ron.  
"Thinking."  
"Thinking? Don't you get enough of that during class?" asked Ron.  
Harry just laughed. He needed to laugh or his head was going to burst. 


	12. Quiditch and Quarrels

Harry called the first Gryffindor Quiditch meeting of the season that night and met his teammates in the locker room.  
"I think we're going to have a good season this year. We've got a great team and-"  
"I disagree."  
"What, Renata?"  
"I disagree. I have a signed order from Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Hooch saying that this year Co-Captains would lead the Gryffindor team. That's me and Harry. He called this meeting without consulting me and I think that if our team doesn't communicate we can't have a good year or a good team. Am I right?"  
Several of the others agreed and Renata smirked at Harry.  
Things went downhill from there.  
Every time Harry suggested something, Renata suggested the opposite or found some kind of fault with it. The quick half an hour meeting Harry had planned turned out to be 2 hours long thanks to Renata.  
Harry hung back when the others left and walked slowly with Renata.  
"Hey, Ren, what'd you do that for?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Don't play dumb."  
"Alright. I'm sorry I gave you a hard time tonight but I really felt you were out of line. You didn't consult with me before the meeting. I told you Dumbledore made us co-captains. That means we agree on stuff before hand." She smiled smugly again.  
Harry gave up; arguing with Renata was no good. Renata always won. "Fine," he muttered. "Have it your way."  
"I always do. Now listen I've got some great strategies for this year's team. And I drew up a practice schedule this summer. I've got diagrams back in Gryffindor Tower but for now I'll describe them."  
Harry listened, her ideas were good. But of course even if they weren't good he'd have no choice but to follow them anyway. Renata certainly had a.strong personality if nothing else. He rolled his eyes.  
They'd just reached the portrait of the Fat Lady when Renata asked, "You know what's odd?"  
"What?" he sank into one of the comfortable chairs near the fire.  
She sat across from him. "We haven't had any trouble from that ferret- faced weasel yet. Not even on the train."  
"That's kind of disturbing."  
"Yeah." She stared into empty space for minute before breaking out in a mad grin. "What do you say to baiting him into a fight on Monday after potions? We throw around a couple of insults that he doesn't dare let go unchallenged and then there's bound to be some sort of fight! What do you think?"  
"I dunno, Renata."  
"Come on! I know you don't care if you get in detention. And we'll leave Ron and Hermione completely out of it, that way we know they won't get in trouble." She glanced over in the corner where Hermione was helping Ron with his Transfiguration homework. Renata turned back to Harry, her eyes shining, "Don't lie to me. I know you like picking fights with, Malfoy. That'll return things to normal and maybe we can find out what's going on."  
"But what if there isn't anything going on?"  
"You don't believe that for minute, Harry. I know you don't. Besides, even if there isn't anything going on it'll give us a chance to throw a couple punches."  
"I got my fill of that before school started," said Harry, remembering the scuffle inside the Leakey Cauldron.  
"Fine. Then at least a couple hexes. You aren't seriously going to pass this up are you?"  
"No. You win."  
"I always win."  
"Right, Ren."  
She smiled. * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *  
That Monday Harry and Renata got to Snape's class early. Draco Malfoy was already there and to Harry's surprise, Goyle and Crabbe weren't.  
"Where's the musclemen?" whispered Renata.  
"I don't know."  
"Do we dare a pre-class prank?" she asked.  
"No, let's just start with insults." He looked in Malfoy's direction. "Malfoy! Where are your trained apes this morning? I thought you were too scared to travel from the Great Hall to the classroom without them?"  
Malfoy barely acknowledged him with a dirty look and a glare before returning to writing down something on a spare piece of parchment.  
"Wow. Nothing," whispered Harry. They continued to antagonize him until the rest of the class came in and then stopped. "What's wrong with him?"  
"He'd never take insults like that."  
"Especially from Gryffindors."  
"We'll have to come up with something better after class."  
Harry nodded but was prevented from saying anything else as Snape began to instruct them in the uses of willow bark. 


	13. Revelations

Snape was over instructing someone else when Renata whispered in Harry's ear, "I think I've got a plan. We corner Malfoy after class and threaten to turn him into a ferret!"  
"We've done that, or at least you have. We need something original," he whispered back.  
"I'll have to think on that then, you need more Mandrake root. Fix it before Snape comes!"  
Thanks to Renata, Snape was able to find no fault with Harry's potion. Harry and Renata made sure to tail Draco when they got out of class. When he ended up in an empty corridor Harry called, "Drakey, what's up? Where are your trained apes?" Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere in sight and had avoided Malfoy during class.  
"Just go away, Potter," he said, that wasn't a very Draco-esque remark.  
"Why? What's the matter, Drakey?" asked Renata.  
"Don't call me that," he said sharply.  
Harry couldn't be sure but he thought Draco's eyes were a little wet. Harry softened his tone, "What's wrong?"  
"I don't want to talk about it, Potter. And I don't have to talk about it. I already paid my debt to you last year. What more do you want?"  
"Just want to know what's wrong, Draco. Maybe we can help," said Harry.  
"No."  
Harry was starting to get angry, not only had Malfoy taken the fun out of teasing him but he was being a brat about it too.  
Renata came up to Malfoy, "Don't make us pin you down and read your mind. Trust me, Harry knows I've developed quite a knack for mind reading." She grinned.  
Draco's pale face grew paler.  
Renata rolled her eyes, unsympathetic. "What's taken the swagger out your walk and the drawl out of your voice? We can't have proper fun teasing you until you stop being so depressed."  
He said nothing.  
Harry said quietly, "Let's go. It's not our business." He tried to take her arm and pull her away but she stood rooted to the spot.  
"No. I can't feel sympathy for somebody who feels so sorry for himself. He's going to tell whether he likes it or not." Her eyes were like blue fire. She walked up to Malfoy rather like a panther approaching its prey and grabbed his wrists behind his back to avoid his escape. She took out her wand and stared into his eyes muttering the spell under her breath.  
Harry watched. He could tell that Malfoy wanted more than anything to look away but was held locked by Renata's eyes. Harry knew the feeling. There was something about her eyes that just drew her to him and wouldn't let you leave. When Renata finally let Malfoy go, he rubbed his wrists to get some feeling back in them and after looking away from her for a moment stared defiantly at both of them. Harry just barely heard him say, "So now you know." His face was livid, he walked away with his shoulders slumped.  
"So what was it?" asked Harry. He'd never seen Malfoy look so. defeated before.  
"His cousin. That sweet little Hufflepuff girl you brought ice cream to last year. she's dead."  
Harry gasped.  
"Malfoy's father killed her. She overheard stuff that she wasn't supposed to hear." It finally became too much for Renata and she sank to her knees, sobbing.  
Harry went down beside her and put her head on his shoulder. "It's okay, it's okay," he whispered repeatedly.  
"No. It's not okay and it's going to be okay. She was just a little girl, Harry. Killed because she overheard too much. By her own uncle. Okay, so she wasn't a blood uncle; she's really Malfoy's mom's niece but that's beside the point. When I was looking Malfoy's mind. Sure Malfoy's cruel and sometimes downright evil. but his cousin was the one person he cared about. I saw memories. Sometimes when his dad was out of the house he and his mom, or sometimes just him, would invite Tracey over or go spend time with her. But at the end of this summer." she sniffled and wiped her eyes, "His dad came home early and started talking. Then he found out she was there and didn't want to take any chances. He killed her without listening to explanations. Malfoy couldn't do anything and had to watch his dad kill her." She started crying again. "He still hates us, and he never liked his dad, but now he wants to kill his dad. And he's not so sure about what he's brought up with for the past 17 years. Imagine 11 years of knowing really nothing but hate, hardly any friends and definitely none that weren't the sons of Death Eaters, then coming here and finding his little mini Death Eater bodyguard would still stand up for him. But now he's not so sure. Still hates you. Still agrees with Voldemort. Still hates Dumbledore. But he's starting to doubt." She began crying again.  
Harry patted her shoulder and let her cry, he knew talking would do no good and in a case like this the best thing to do would be to let the person cry.  
"Why did I have to get so smart like that and break in to his mind? I had to watch her die through his eyes!" She sobbed only a little more, by this time she was cried out. She gave a little laugh. "Look at me, bawling like a baby. Didn't I already promise I was never going to cry in front of you anymore?"  
He smiled and helped her to her feet. "Come on, we'll get some lunch in you and you'll feel better. We'll walk slowly so your eyes will stop being so red."  
She nodded. "I hate crying."  
"Doesn't everybody? I know I do."  
She nodded again.  
"Come on, look, Ron and Hermione saved seats for us at the table." By unspoken agreement they didn't speak to Ron and Hermione about what they found out about Malfoy.  
"Where were you?" asked Ron.  
"Oh. We were just trying to give Malfoy a little back to school chaos but the ferret escaped before we could get him," Harry said casually. 


	14. Warnings

Harry was sitting in the common room the next night trying to finish up the essay Snape had assigned when Hedwig appeared, tapping on the common room window. He got up and found she had a letter from Sirius.  
  
Harry,  
Be careful. Do not walk back from Quiditch practice alone. Do not wander Hogwarts alone (especially past curfew!). ( Do not enter the Forest. I'm only saying all of this because I care about you, Harry. Be on your guard. Despite anything and everything Dumbledore might do the last battle is coming and you're going to be part of it no matter what we try to do to avoid it.  
  
Sirius P.S. Hope your term is going well.  
  
Harry crumpled the letter angrily. Why did everybody assume he couldn't take care of himself?  
"Because you've got enemies enough that anybody would need a helping hand." Renata smiled at him.  
"You reading my mind again?" he asked, suspiciously.  
"No, just your face, and it's written plain enough there." She sat next to him. "If you'd just let all of us help you, you'd be a lot better off. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. I can tell just by the way you're sitting that you've got a whole bunch of tension built up and no seventeen year old should have that much worry in his face."  
He said nothing.  
"The letter was from Sirius?" It wasn't entirely a question.  
"Of course it was. Look at it, I know you want to." He handed her the crumpled parchment and looked away.  
She read it through. "Well, those are all valid points. But I'm sure he'll be delighted to know that I will accompany you at all times and keep you from wandering off," she said cheerily. She picked up a quill and parchment and began to write. Harry leaned over her shoulder to see what she was writing.  
  
Sirius,  
Have no fear; I'll keep watch over Harry. I'll make sure he doesn't walk back to the castle from the Quiditch field alone. I'll make sure he's back in the common room by curfew and keep him company if he's not in the common room. And I'll keep him out of the Forest on the grounds. I'll also make sure he doesn't go off on any more early morning flights on the Quiditch field. ( I'll even make sure he does all his homework and studies for his tests. Be good, Sirius, and Harry'll promise to behave too.  
  
Renata P.S. Don't get yourself killed.  
  
"What do you think?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at Harry.  
"I can't believe you wrote all that."  
"And I mean every word. C'mere, Hedwig. Yeah? You want to deliver this to Sirius for me?"  
Hedwig nipped her on the finger and gave a low hoot, a signal that she would do it.  
"Good girl." Renata took out a piece of toast from that morning's breakfast and gave it to Hedwig. "See you later." Hedwig flew out the open window.  
"I can't believe you just did that!"  
"Did what?"  
"You answered my mail and then used Hedwig to send it."  
"I saved you the trouble of having to write a letter."  
Harry just shook his head.  
  
^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *  
  
A reply letter had come just three days after Renata had sent her letter to Sirius and it had said that he was going to hold her to her word. She was of course more than happy to oblige. In the weeks that followed Renata hardly left Harry's side, she kept all her promises to Sirius.  
The Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were intense. They worked with complicated spells and learning to recognize when they were being lied to and how to discern what was really happening with the government. Dumbledore also explained how easy it was for the Ministry to take hold of media and keep things from being printed or twist words. He demonstrated how he could say any number of things and have an entirely different meaning without lying.  
Malfoy kept his distance from Harry in Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and any other time they saw each other.  
In Herbology Harry heard about Tracey's death from one of the Hufflepuffs. Most of them, being so much older, hadn't really known her but they remembered her being a sweet little girl who got picked on sometimes by bullies. None of them knew she was Draco Malfoy's cousin or knew how she died (other than that she'd been killed by dark wizards) and Harry didn't tell them.  
Before he knew it is was already mid-October.  
  
* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *  
  
The first Hogsmeade weekend was fast approaching and Harry wanted to ask Renata to go with him. He decided it would be best to run this by Ron first and see what he thought. It was only by lucky chance that Renata finally left him alone for once so she could go send a letter to her mum. Harry used this opportunity to tell Ron that he intended to ask Renata to Hogsmeade.  
"You didn't know, Harry?"  
"Know what?" he asked, there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  
"She's going to Hogsmeade with Seamus."  
"Oh."  
"But I bet if you ask her she'll go with you instead," Ron said earnestly.  
"No. It's okay. I don't even think I really want to go. It's not that big a deal."  
"Oh, come off it, Harry. You know she's just taking Seamus to make you jealous. Just suck it up and tell her that you want to go to Hogsmeade with her. I'm sure she'll understand."  
"No. She wants to go with Seamus, that's fine with me. I've got to go to the library. There's a book I want to get to help me with my, er, transfiguration homework. See you later."  
"But, Harry! If you'd just talk to her."  
Harry didn't listen to whatever the rest of what Ron was going to say was. He couldn't listen to it.  
The library was closed by this time but it was the only place he could think of to tell Ron where he was going. But since he couldn't go there he changed course to go to the Owlery.  
Unfortunately he forgot that that's where Renata was. He ran into her as he entered.  
"Oh. Hi, Renata. I didn't realize you'd be here."  
"Did you leave the common room by yourself?"  
"What?"  
"I'm not going to break any of my promises to Sirius, Harry. I knew you'd never agree to such promises with him, you've got too much of a rebellious, adventurous spirit in you. But I promised him that I was going to make sure nothing happened to you and I mean to keep that promise. I don't want you hurt and I don't go back on my word. Am I going to have to ditch my date for Hogsmeade to make sure you don't wander off?"  
When he finally replied his voice was quiet, it took an effort for him to say the words but he said them, "No. Have fun on your date. Have a great time. I'm probably not even going. If I do go to Hogsmeade I'll just be hanging out with Ron and Hermione like usual."  
"Harry, if you don't want me to go, I won't go. All you have to do is say it."  
Harry desperately wanted to tell her, "Exactly! I don't want you going with him. Me!" but he didn't. Instead he said, "No. Enjoy yourself."  
"Are you sure?" she asked.  
"I just want you to be happy. Besides," he tried to lighten his mood, "you need a break from babysitting me."  
She smiled. "Come on, I'll walk you back to the common room." 


	15. Hogsmeade

The night before the Hogsmeade trip Harry went back to the dormitory early. He didn't feel like staying awake with his friends. To Harry's surprise, Seamus followed him.  
"Harry?"  
"Yeah, I'm here," his words were muffled because he'd already closed the curtains around his four-poster.  
"Can we talk?"  
"I guess so." He opened the curtains and Seamus came and sat down on the end of his bed.  
"Harry, I know you still really care about Renata so I'm just going to tell you the truth. Yeah, I like her. I've said since she first came to Hogwarts that she was good-looking and how great it was that she was so awesome at Quiditch. But I knew she wasn't interested in me. And I know she still isn't interested in me. Remember the back to school feast of our fifth year? That lecture she gave Dean and I about being chauvinistic pigs, absolutely terrifying."  
"She treats everybody that way. You want to know how often she calls me an arrogant pig?"  
Seamus grinned. "At least as often as Ron calls Hermione a know-it- all?" He quirked an eyebrow at Harry and shook his head. "It's not the same, Harry. She likes me as a friend. I don't want more than that. It's all that there's ever going to be between her and me. I know that, she knows that, and I hope you know that. Besides, she's a bit off her rocker."  
"Hey, watch it. Renata may be a little.unusual but there's nothing wrong with that. She's perfect just the way she is." He glared at Seamus but Seamus just laughed.  
"See? I did that on purpose. I insulted her and you got mad. She really cares about you too but she's the kind of person who puts herself in an iron shell, I guess, and she doesn't want her heart broken. So she won't let anybody break it. She won't tell what she's feeling until you do first."  
"If you didn't already know, she's the one who broke up with me last year. I was happy the way things were."  
"If you change your mind I know she'll be there. She's only got eyes for you anyways."  
"Thanks, Seamus."  
"G'night, Harry." He got up and put on his pajamas.  
Harry drifted off to sleep.  
  
^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^  
  
Harry went into Hogsmeade and managed to slip away from Hermione and Ron despite the promises he'd overheard them make to Renata. It'd been a simple matter of putting on his invisibility cloak when no one was looking. He needed time alone to think.  
He wandered the streets of the village for a while before ending up inside the Three Broomsticks where he decided it was safe to take off his cloak. Fortunately he caught sight of Seamus and Renata before doing so and he crept nearer to listen to their conversation.  
"Drink up, Renata." Seamus's bottle of Butterbeer was half empty but Renata's was nearly full. "Don't look so glum."  
"Did you at least try to talk to him? Don't lie to me, I swear upon my father's grave that I'll know if you lie." Her eyes were cold.  
"I swear, Renata. I'm not lying. I did try. Honestly. I made sure everything was out in the open. He misses you."  
"Misses me? I hardly give him a moment to himself. After all, I promised Sirius I'd take care of him." She took a tiny sip.  
"You've told me. But he misses you. He never wanted to break up with you."  
Harry crept even closer to hear her next words, which were hardly more than a murmur, "Neither did I."  
"What did you say?"  
"Oh. Nothing." She made an attempt to grin. "Forget it."  
"Why don't you just tell him?"  
"I already told you. Nobody's allowed to break my heart."  
"You must really care about him if you think he might break your heart."  
"You're right. I do," she told him solemnly.  
"So how's the Quiditch team-" Seamus began.  
Renata tensed, "Wait. He's here."  
"What are you talking about? Who?"  
"Harry. Sometimes I can sort of sense him, and I know where he is, even if he's on the other side of the school. Or I know what he's feeling or thinking just by looking at him or touching his hand, sometimes not even that. He can be in another room and I know. It's weird, but sometimes I just know these things."  
"And right now?" Seamus asked quietly.  
"And right now I know he's in here somewhere. Probably very near by. But where? I told him to stay with Hermione and Ron!" she said angrily. She raised her voice slightly, enough to be heard within ten feet, "If I find out that you ran away from them, Harry, you're going to be awfully sorry! I mean it. It'll only take me another minute or so to figure out where you are, even if you're invisible." She closed her eyes and after a slight hesitation pointed directly at Harry. "I know you're there."  
Harry froze. If he moved she'd hear him for sure.  
She stepped forward inch by inch and after fumbling a bit (and knocking his glasses askew) she found he shoulder and gripped it tightly. She made a guess at where his head was and whispered fiercely to him; "Wait for me outside the door and when nobody's looking take off that dumb cloak? You hear?"  
He made his voice as quiet as he could while still audible enough for Renata to hear, "Yeah. I heard." She released him and he walked outside.  
Harry just barely heard Seamus ask, "That Harry?"  
"Yeah," replied Renata. "Thanks for the drink, Seamus. Glad we talked. I've got to-" and that was all Harry heard before he got outside. When it appeared no one was coming he took off his invisibility cloak and stuffed it in his schoolbag that he'd brought along to carry it in originally.  
Harry waited by the door but it was less than a moment before Renata came out.  
"How long were you standing there?"  
"Long enough."  
"How long?" Her eyes narrowed and her voice was dangerous.  
"Long enough to hear you swear on your father's grave."  
"Oh." She was silent a while before saying, "Harry?"  
"What?"  
"Nothing. Never mind." She turned away.  
Harry didn't like to see Renata sad, "Come on. Let's go for a walk. You'll feel better."  
"Okay, but if you try to sneak away then I'm going to put a leasing spell on you. You know what? For listening in on my conversation I'm going to put that spell on you anyway." She performed the spell. "You can't go more than five feet from me until I sever the spell." She smiled. "Let's go find Ron and Hermione." She moved quickly and Harry felt himself pulled along as though there were an invisible rope at his waist. He sped up so that he was side by side with her.  
She didn't bring up anything she'd said inside the Three Broomsticks and Harry knew better than to bring something up when she didn't want to. He'd done that before and it wasn't pleasant. Last time, it had led to one of their biggest fights and a lot of embarrassment. Instead they discussed Quiditch and Gryffindor's first game that would soon approach.  
"I've decided on a slightly more rigorous training schedule, if the rest of the team approves, and I've got some knew strategies for the game."  
"Do I get a say in any of this?" asked Harry.  
"No," she said, happily.  
He shook his head. "You're impossible."  
"I know. That's what's so much fun." She grinned at him and he couldn't help but smile back.  
Harry decided to take a chance, though he knew he'd probably regret it later, "You know, I've really missed you."  
"I'm right here. Just like always."  
"Yeah, but that's the worst way to miss someone."  
Her face and tone softened, "I told you I wouldn't come with Seamus today if you didn't want me to." Renata never did as anyone wanted her to do, but in this, Harry knew she was telling him the truth.  
"I know. But I just want you to be happy," he said.  
"Well, I wasn't happy today. Seamus is a great guy, but I would have been a lot happier if I was here with someone else."  
"Really?"  
"Of course."  
They saw Ron and Hermione talking quite happily together and even holding hands and sitting rather close on a bench outside one of the shops. Harry said decisively, "Let's go. I don't think we need to bother them."  
She caught sight of Ron and Hermione. "You're right. I better get you back to Hogwarts before you catch a cold and die."  
"Right. You're going to keep your more promises to Sirius if it kills me."  
She smiled. "Yup. Besides, this gives me more time to think about what I'm going to say to Ron and Hermione when I yell at them later for letting you get away from them earlier."  
"It's not their fault. It was mine."  
"That doesn't matter."  
"Why not?"  
"Because I feel like yelling at them and that's what I'm going to do. This just gives me a longer opportunity to think of what to say to them."  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
The next Monday Harry was passing notes with Renata in potions when suddenly a dark shadow moved in front of him.  
"Potter! Delano! Passing notes in class, I see. That will cost you a detention each." Snape snatched the scrap of parchment from the desk. "Well, let me read it allowed so everyone can hear. Miss Delano writes: 'He so depressed. I wonder what we should do. I really want to help.' Mister Potter replies: 'Hurt like that doesn't just go away. I don't think there's anything we can do for him.' Who are you talking about?" Snape's eyes narrowed and focused on them.  
Renata hesitated before answering, "It's my uncle. You see, he always gets depressed this time of year. The anniversary of when he lost two of his closest friends is this Wednesday, sir. On Halloween. That sort of thing never really heals."  
Harry sighed inwardly with relief. That was quick thinking on Renata's part. Snape would have been furious if he'd known they were talking about Malfoy.  
"I'll just continue then. Miss Delano writes: 'You're right, Harry.' Potter being right? That's a first. Potter replies: 'Ren, I wondering if you'd come with me to.' The conversation seems to have halted there."  
"That's when you came and picked up the parchment, sir."  
"Really? Then what were you going to ask her, Potter?"  
Harry hoped his face didn't betray his lie as he said, "I was going to ask her if she'd come with me to the library to help me study my divination. I was having difficulties with it, sir."  
"Very well. I think you need to sit elsewhere for the remainder of the class. Gather your things and go sit by Mister Malfoy." Snape sneered and resumed his lesson.  
Renata whispered to Harry before he got up, "Use the live-write spell!"  
He gave a slight nod to tell her he'd heard and he moved to where Malfoy was sitting.  
"Keep your distance, Potter. I'm not going to get in trouble because of you," muttered Malfoy, he began to chop up ingredients. This was the most he'd said to Harry since Renata broke into his mind.  
"Snape would never give you detention, you're his favorite," muttered Harry.  
"Not anymore."  
"What?"  
"Just shut-up, Potter. I need to get back to my work." Draco didn't say another word throughout the rest of the lesson.  
Harry, pretending to take notes used his live-write paper to talk to Renata. "Something's up with, Malfoy. He's all weird and sullen," wrote Harry.  
Purple ink appeared under what he'd written. "I wonder why. He's certainly no fun to tease anymore. What caused the schism with him and his cronies?"  
"He's not talking."  
"Nothing?"  
"Nothing."  
"Can you believe he gave us detention?"  
"Detention with Snape is about as much fun as setting your hair on fire or being chased by a dragon."  
"Actually being chased by a dragon sounds like it'd be fun."  
"No, it's not!"  
"What were you going to ask me earlier? I know it wasn't something stupid like the library."  
Harry didn't write anything.  
"If you don't tell me you know I'm going to find out anyway. I always do." She drew three heavy lines under the word "always".  
"Well, Ren, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me the next time there's a weekend when the students are allowed to go." Harry wrote this and looked over to where Renata was sitting.  
She seemed rather stunned for a few seconds before adopting a somewhat satisfied look and shifting her attention to Harry. She smiled. Harry hoped that was a good sign but with Renata it was always hard to tell.  
"You mean like a date?" she wrote.  
His handwriting was unsteady as he wrote one more word, "Yeah." He looked at her again.  
She nodded at him and wrote, "Okay. But watch out, Snape's coming to you."  
Harry slipped the live-write sheet under his class notes. When Snape passed by he saw only a diligent student. He glared and went on to criticize someone else's work.  
When Snape dismissed the class he ask Renata and Harry to remain behind. "You will do your detentions tonight. 8 o'clock sharp meet me in my office. I am a busy man and if you do not arrive on time I will add 2 more detentions."  
Harry and Renata walked out together glumly after answering a resigned, "Yes, sir".  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
That night's detention was awful. Harry had to scrub out cauldrons that obviously hadn't been cleaned in years and Renata had to copy out notes for students who had been absent. One student had been out sick in the hospital wing for nearly three weeks, with lots of notes missing.  
Harry and Renata walked back to the Gryffindor common room. Renata complained, "My hand is killing me! Look at this. I can't believe how much it hurts. What I wouldn't give for a computer to use in here. You realize I still have to write out all my homework?"  
"Look at my fingers. They look like prunes." He showed her his fingers up close.  
She gagged. "Ugh. That stench is never going to come out, you know."  
Harry agreed. It was awful.  
"So, what made you ask me about Hogsmeade? The next one probably won't be until nearly Christmas. Well, maybe November."  
He hesitated.  
"I want the truth, Harry."  
"When I saw you there with Seamus, Ren, I realized that I really wished it was me that you were there with and not him. Ren, I guess I felt kind of."  
"Kind of what?" She was grinning."  
Harry turned red as he muttered, "Jealous."  
"What was that?"  
"Jealous, okay? Ren, I really wanted that to be me. I was going to ask you that night I ran into you at the Owlery but Ron had just told me you were going with Seamus. I'd forgotten. I.I miss you," he ended lamely. "Stop grinning like an idiot!"  
Her grin evaporated but was replaced by a genuine smile.  
It took a lot of self-control for Harry not to kiss her right then and there. She looked so beautiful. Ren was a welcome break from feeling like he was carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders, but instead of kissing her Harry just said goodnight and went back up to the dormitory where Dean and Ron were already asleep. 


	16. Ron's New Extra Curricular Activity

"Harry, d'you know where Hermione is? She's been oddly absent lately. Can't find her anywhere," said Ron.  
"Did you check the library?" asked Harry, glancing up at Ron from his work.  
"Twice. It was the first and last place I looked."  
Harry noticed an odd gleam on Renata's face. "What do you know?"  
"She's at cheerleading practice."  
"Hermione's a cheerleader? I thought that was just something dumb you guys did last year!" exclaimed Ron.  
"Oh no, Gryffindor's still got cheerleaders. And Hermione's not just any cheerleader; she's the head cheerleader. Actually the other houses are starting squads too."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. If you're interested, Ron, the Gryffindor squad is going co- ed. "  
"Ron doesn't want to join the cheer squad!"  
"I dunno, Renata. Maybe. " said Ron.  
"Good." Renata's smiled showed she was satisfied. "Ron, don't let Harry leave here. I've got to go. I promised I'd help come up with a new cheer."  
Harry waited until Renata was gone from the common room before asking, "You aren't serious, Ron, are you?"  
He shuffled his feet self-consciously. "Well. yeah. I mean, I'm not really going to be seeing much of Hermione outside of class once she gets wrapped up in this cheer thing. Between homework and her cheerleading I'll never see her. At least this way I can still hang out with her." He looked sheepishly at Harry.  
"Oh, I meant to ask. Yesterday in Hogsmeade, did you and Hermione kiss? Renata and I saw you sitting together." Harry grinned a little wickedly.  
"No. I was going to. Honestly, I was. But I. chickened out. And after that, I was going to try to kiss her but then Seamus came up to us and started asking about transfiguration homework. Couldn't get rid of him!"  
"Sorry, that's kind of my fault. I ran off with his date."  
"Harry!"  
"I said I was sorry." He was. He knew how much Ron really cared about Hermione and was sorry that it was indirectly his fault for spoiling the moment. "But look at the bright side."  
"What bright side?"  
"She's been spending so much time with Ren that you never can tell, she might have gotten mad at you afterwards. Ren yells at me without warning and for no apparent reason."  
"Yeah, but Hermione isn't Renata. Why do you call her Ren?"  
"I dunno. I just kinda slip into calling her Ren sometimes instead of Renata. Her friends from back home always called her Ren." He shrugged.  
"Look, I don't want Renata mad at me. The last time she was, spiders appeared in my lunch the next day. So I'm going to go down to the Quiditch field. Don't leave, alright?"  
"Fine. She sure takes her promises seriously."  
"Promises?"  
"I never told you? She made all these promises to Sirius that she was going to take care of me, that's why she doesn't let me out of her sight most of the time."  
"Must be exhausting for you having to deal with her so much. I'll see you later."  
Harry watched Ron leave and shook his head. Ron, a cheerleader? What next? 


	17. Game Face

The next few weeks were positively grueling as Harry prepared for the first Quiditch match of the year. He didn't see much of Ron and Hermione outside of class. He was busy with homework and Quiditch and had little time for anything else. If it can be imagined, he even saw less of Renata. In addition to homework and Quiditch she was working closely with the Gryffindor cheerleaders and even giving advice to the squads from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Cheerleading was held before or after Quiditch and so when this was the case and she was needed, Renata gave Ginny the task of keeping Harry in the Gryffindor house. Ginny was more than happy to oblige.  
Finally it was the night before the big game. Harry stayed in the Common Room trying to calm his nerves and finish his work. He only saw one other person in the common room. What was Renata still doing down here?  
Harry went over to go see her. "You really should get some re-" He looked at her and saw that she'd fallen asleep in the chair where she'd been working.  
Harry conjured some blankets and tucked them around her before returning to his work. It wasn't long after that Harry went back to his dorm. He paused on the stairs as he heard Renata mumble something in her sleep, "Harry, where are you?" She fluttered an eyelid. "Harry, I wanted to be down here to talk to you. I know you're always worried before a match and need somebody to talk to." She struggled to sit up.  
"Go back to sleep, Ren. I'm fine." He smiled at her.  
She gave a sleepy nod and snuggled back under her blankets. She was asleep again almost instantly and Harry wandered back upstairs.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
The next morning Harry got up early. He was confident that the match against Ravenclaw would go well. He dressed and came down to the common room; Renata was still asleep in the chair.  
"Renata, Ren, wake up. Rise and shine." Very few Gryffindors were awake yet but Harry thought it best to wake her. He gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up, Ren. We've got a Quiditch match in a few hours."  
"Nnnnnng," she groaned. She obviously didn't want to wake up.  
"Ren, you've got to get up. Look! Malfoy just fell off his broom."  
"What? Where? Stupid Malfoy." She sat up and slowly opened her eyes. She saw her surroundings and then stared at Harry, "Liar."  
He grinned. "Unless you're planning on wearing that to the game I suggest you go get dressed." "That" was the sweat pants and t-shirt she'd been wearing when she was helping the cheerleaders the night before.  
"Yeah, yeah." She got up and stretched. "I suppose you're right. I can't march onto the field wearing this. Thanks." She punched his arm and went up to the girls' dormitories to get dressed. Harry was waiting for her but Ron came down first. "Hey, Ron."'  
"Hey." Ron was obviously very distracted.  
"What's the matter? You nervous?"  
"A little. I'm part of the bottom of the pyramid."  
"You'll be fine."  
"Thanks." Ron didn't sound too confident.  
"What are you going to wear anyway?"  
"Oh, my pants and my shirt are the same colors as what the girls are wearing but obviously they're wearing skirts. Supposed to get to the field early to get dressed in the locker rooms. I've got to go scarf down some breakfast, Harry. Best of luck in the match."  
"Thanks. Good luck to you too."  
Hermione was the next to come down the stairs.  
"Oh, hello, Harry! Have you seen Ron? I want to make sure he knows the routine for today. I'm so nervous!"  
"You'll do fine," Harry assured her.  
"Oh, I don't know. What if somebody forgets the routine? Or somebody doesn't catch somebody and they break their neck? Or what if-"  
"Hermione, you'll do fine. Ron is downstairs getting something to eat before he heads to the locker room to get dressed. If you hurry I'm sure you can catch him."  
"Thanks, Harry. Good luck with game. We'll be cheering for you." She vanished through the portal out into the hall.  
Harry had perhaps another half an hour so gone from his life by the time Renata came down. "I'm ready."  
"Finally. I've been waiting nearly an hour," he complained.  
"Well, I'm sorry but I had to help Hermione with her hair."  
"She came down half an hour ago."  
"Picky, picky, picky. Let's go grab something to eat. I'm starved."  
"All right." When they sat at the Gryffindor table Harry asked, "Are you nervous about the game?"  
"No. But you are."  
"How'd you know?"  
"Because you always are. But that's a good thing. After all, 'If you're feeling cocky, it's because there's something you don't know.' " She grinned and squeezed his hand. "It'll be okay. Don't worry about it."  
He felt better. Renata always made him feel better, that's why he talked to her at night before the games. "Thanks," he said, and meant it.  
They went out to the locker room and the cheerleaders were all coming out. "Knock'em dead!" said one girl, a hyper little first year, as she punched her fist in the air.  
Harry looked at the uniforms. They were scarlet and gold. Short scarlet colored skirts with gold trim and cute scarlet tops with gold trim and a big G on the front (in gold of course). Harry quickly spotted Ron among all the girls. Ron's scarlet colored pants were rather like nylon warm-up pants with gold trim. His t-shirt was also scarlet and rather than bearing a large G it had a picture of the Gryffindor lion.  
"Good luck, Ron."  
Ron tried to smile, "I just hope I don't drop anybody. You'll do great, Harry." Ron clapped him on the shoulder briefly before hurrying along to follow the girls.  
Harry glanced around. He saw Hermione ordering the other cheerleaders into their positions like a war officer ordering troops for battle. Harry had to admit it: she didn't look half-bad. Harry could see why Ron liked her.  
He heard a voice whisper to him, "Stop that. Ron likes her for her personality."  
Harry looked to find Renata standing beside him. "Reading my mind?"  
"Yeah. And it's a good thing I did. You get rid of that sort of thinking. Ron's a good, decent guy. Unlike some people."  
"Who? Me? I'm as decent as Ron!"  
"Shallow."  
"I'm not shallow. I'd still feel the same way about you as I do now even if you were bald, and fat, and ugly and that the honest truth. I swear it."  
"And how do you feel about me?" She paused but instead of answering, Harry just turned red and muttered incoherently. "Never mind. Time for a pep talk." She led him back to the locker room. "Okay team! We all know we're the best. Now let's go prove it. again. Remember, Chasers, talk it up out there and score those points like we've been practicing. Beaters, only clobber the fliers in blue. As far blocking the rings and getting the Snitch, leave that Harry an' me. Alright, like I said we know we're the best now it's time to prove it again!" She punched her fist into the air and gave what sounded something like a war cry.  
The other's seemed positively pumped with energy. Harry muttered, "Great speech."  
"Thanks." She smiled and they stepped outside to the cheers of the stadium.  
Harry hesitated, thinking Renata would go and shake hands with the Ravenclaw captain. Instead she nudged him forward, "Go on, this is your show."  
Harry stumbled forward, shook hands, and Madam Hooch blew the whistle. They were off.  
Harry watched, circling above all the other players, rather like a vulture. He kept an eye on the game, an eye out for the Snitch, and an eye on the cheerleaders; this was figuratively speaking of course, Harry still only had two eyes.  
The cheerleaders for Ravenclaw were attired much like those from Gryffindor, but wearing their own house colors instead. They also all had R written on their shirts rather than having the Ravenclaw eagle. They did a cheer something to the effect of "Go, Ravenclaw! Fly, fight, win!" and threw their pompoms in the air. They did some spins and kicks too, not bad, for amateurs.  
But the Gryffindor squad was something else; then again they'd also had something of a squad last year so they weren't completely new to this. There were seven members on the Gryffindor squad (counting the captain) but Ravenclaw only had about 5. Two Gryffindor girls, with Ron between them, were on their hands and knees making up the base of the pyramid. Two more girls stood on top of them to make the next level of the pyramid. The top level was just one girl, that hyper little first year who'd told Harry to knock the other team dead. Harry remember something about her position being called "flyer" because both of the girls on the second level held one of her feet. Hermione stood behind the pyramid obviously ready to make a rescue attempt if it was needed. Her voice magically amplified Harry heard her words clearly, "READY? OKAY! LIONS, LIONS, WE'RE ON THE PROWL, BE AFRAID OF OUR BITE, NOT OUR GROWL! WE'RE GONNA WIN, YOU CAN BET YOUR OWL! GO. GRYFFINDOR!" On the word "go" the two girls in the middle level actually through that spunky little first year into the air. Harry was surprised at how long she stayed airborne before descending. While airborne she managed a triple toe-touch. Very limber. The pyramid disasmbled and Harry worried about the girl who was starting to descend and wondered if he should dive after her. But the rest of the squad formed a sort of net with there arms and caught the girl flat on her back before helping her to her feet. As the girl landed Hermione shot red and gold sparks into the air with her wand. The Gryffindors screamed happily. These girls (and Ron) were pretty good.  
Harry pulled his eyes away to concentrate on the game again. It had all but suspended during this cheer, except for Renata who kept diligently to her task in case the Ravenclaw Chasers decided to use the Gryffindor distraction as a chance to score, and the Beaters who really couldn't rest because otherwise people would get hurt.  
Colin Creevy was doing the commentary and announced, "Wow, those cheerleaders were phenomenal. An excellent idea, really. But I suppose we must concentrate on the game, the score still stands Ravenclaw 10 and Gryffindor 30."  
The pressure was back on. Harry still hadn't caught sight of the Snitch. Harry watched and the teams were fairly evenly matched. Neither Harry nor Renata had anticipated their competition being this good. But Gryffindor was still better. Ginny scored another 10 points. Harry watched and every time Gryffindor scored, Ron did a cartwheel and all the girls threw their pompoms in the air.  
Harry saw the new Ravenclaw Seeker. He couldn't fly very well, he was rather unsteady on his broom as though he was new to it all. But he was the perfect build for a Seeker, he was light and even though he appeared unsteady he was fast. His eyes seemed to scan everywhere at once.  
Harry saw the Snitch. It was hovering just a feet from Renata's ear. He saw that the other Seeker was distracted and he made a beeline for the Gryffindor hoops. The Snitch tried to evade him by moving closer to Renata but Harry stretched as far as he could and caught it anyway. "I've got the Snitch!" he shouted in triumph.  
Renata grimaced, "Ow! Don't scream in my ear like that." They landed on the ground.  
"Sorry, didn't mean to scream like that."  
"That's okay, we won." She gave Harry a hug and he nearly forgot that almost the whole school was there coming out of the stands.  
Colin Creevy finished up his commentary, "What a game! Gryffindor wins 200 to 30. Spectacular. Most of the Gryffindor goals were scored by Ginny Weasley. As for the Ravenclaw team.." Colin kept talking but Harry didn't bother to listen. He and Renata went off to find Ron and Hermione.  
Harry asked, "You guys were great. How'd you get that one girl to stay in the air so long?"  
"Well, Bessie and Hilary, they were the two on the middle level, threw her in the air and while she was still in the air I used the levitation charm to make her stay a little longer."  
"That was good thinking," said Renata.  
"Thanks," said Hermione. "Ron, you did so great with those cartwheels."  
He blushed. "Anybody can do a cartwheel."  
"I can't," said Renata.  
"Me neither," added Harry.  
Ron hastily changed the subject, "You guys! Harry just zoomed in out of nowhere and got the Snitch. And Renata, the number of times you stopped that Quaffle!"  
"Hey, let's go back to the common room and celebrate," said Hermione. "I heard Ginny's throwing another party."  
"Oh no. I got sick after the last party," said Harry with mild alarm.  
"But that's because you were running yourself ragged beforehand," said Renata.  
"And who's fault was that?" retorted Harry. It was true, after the last Quiditch match of last year, Harry had gotten sick after the party because with homework, Quiditch, and spending so much time with Renata he hardly had any energy left and so his immune system was down. It was while he was in the hospital wing that Renata had dumped him. Told him it was for his own good. Harry looked at Renata now and was surprised to find her near tears. "What's the matter?" It wrenched his heart to see her this upset: Renata just didn't cry.  
"Nothing. I'm fine. I'll see you later." She walked away quickly.  
Harry tried to go after but Hermione blocked his way. "I need to go find out what's wrong," he said angrily.  
"No, Harry. She needs to be by herself right now."  
"What's wrong with her?"  
Hermione shook her head. "She never wanted to break up with you."  
"Then why did she?"  
Hermione just shook her head, sadly.  
Harry bit his lip but didn't follow after Renata, even though he wanted to.  
  
* * ^ * * ^ * * ^ * * ^ * * * * ***********************  
  
Author's Note: Okay, my cheers are lame but gimme a break, I don't go to any of the sports games at my school and at the rallies the cheer squad's more like a dance team. I've got a couple things to say about Renata.  
  
For anybody who hates or dislikes Renata, I don't blame you. I wrote her that way.  
  
In matters of the Heart, the Mind doesn't get much say. You can't really help how you feel about someone. Harry does have legitimate reasons for liking Renata: Renata is smart, funny, kind (most of the time), he admires her ability at sports, and he thinks she's pretty. He's drawn to her strong personality; if Renata's anything at all she's strong. Sure she's stubborn, that's what makes her so much like Harry and why they fight so much. But she's also kind of crazy which is why she was fun to write and it's one of the reasons that Harry was so drawn to her. Renata is as mean as she is to Harry because she's afraid of getting hurt. To put it plainly, she's kind of a tough guy and she's not willing to put her heart on the line unless she knows she's not going to make an idiot out of herself. Before I joined FanFiction.net I was with another site that posted fan fiction online. I put up a diary by Renata that kind of helps to explain why she's how she is. But that site crashed and I never saved the diary on my computer. 


	18. Time to Confess

Harry went to the library by himself that night. He didn't feel like partying. When he got to the library Renata was already there.  
"Hi," she said.  
"Hi."  
"Why aren't you in the common room enjoying yourself?"  
"Didn't feel like partying. You?"  
"Same."  
He sat down next to her. "D'you wanna go for a walk?" he asked quickly, before his nerve failed him.  
She brushed a stand of loose hair out of her eyes. "What?"  
"Neither of us want to go back to that noisy common room right now, so how about we go for a walk?"  
"Oh. Alright." She stood up. "Where do you want to go?  
"We could go visit Fang?" Even with Hagrid dead, Fang still stayed in Hagrid's hut and someone (Harry wasn't sure who) went down and fed him everyday.  
"Okay."  
They left the library and made their way outside and to Hagrid's hut. They gave Fang a few pats but it was too depressing for them to stay down there. Instead they went over by the lake.  
They sat underneath the great oak, holding hands. "Harry, do you want to know the real reason I broke up with you last year?" asked Renata, shyer than Harry had ever seen her. She chewed her bottom lip the way she often did when she was nervous and continually pushed her hair back behind her ear (even though it was already there).  
"You said it was because it was for the best and because my grades were suffering," he said, remembering the day dolefully.  
"Well, that wasn't entirely true. I mean, it was true that your grades were slipping and I blamed myself for that, but that wasn't the real reason I broke up with you."  
"What was it then?" Harry was puzzled.  
"I broke up with you because I was afraid."  
"Afraid?" Renata had always seemed so fearless in any situation. "What could you possibly be afraid of?"  
"You."  
"Me? I'd never hurt you!"  
She shook her head. "Maybe not intentionally but I don't let anybody break my heart. Especially not more than once."  
"Did I ever break your heart before?"  
"No. But I did break my heart before when I broke up with you. But that's not the only reason."  
"What else?"  
"I was afraid because I felt kind of helpless. I love you, Harry. And I know that I always will and there's nothing I can do to stop that. I'm always going to care about you until the day I die."  
"And I, you," he said. "Last year when we were in that other world, I was thinking I hope Renata gets out of this okay."  
"I'm tough. You should have known I'd be fine."  
"I worry anyway."  
"You worry too much."  
"Ren, will you go to Hogsmeade with me next Saturday?"  
She leaned over and gave Harry a kiss. "Does that answer your question?"  
"Let me guess, that's a yes?"  
"Of course it is." She whispered, "I'm sorry I'm so terrible to you all the time."  
"Terrible?"  
"I'm a bossy control freak and I know it."  
Harry had to admit that she was.  
"What made you ask me to Hogsmeade? I mean, what was it that made you ask me today."  
"Well I was thinking about the last Hogsmeade day and how much I wished it had been me with you instead of Seamus. And I thought about that look in your eyes today when I brought you breaking up with me last year."  
"I didn't want to break up with you, Harry," she sounded hurt.  
"I know that now. But I didn't know that last year. I thought you just didn't want to have anymore to do with me. But I couldn't forget you."  
"You didn't seem too interested in getting me back so I thought I did the right thing breaking up with you and everybody would be happy. But I wasn't happy."  
"Neither way I."  
"What matters is we're together again now. Kiss me?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes.  
Harry kissed her, her lips sweeter than he remembered; but eventually he had to stop so he could breathe. He looked at Renata and saw that she was smiling.  
"I'm hungry. Let's go back to the common room. I bet that party's still going on."  
"Yeah. Let's go." Harry stood up and helped Renata to her feet. They walked back to the common room hand in hand.  
  
Everybody happy yet? 


	19. Old Foes

Harry's happiness was soon to be short-lived. That Friday he came down to the Great Hall with Ron, Hermione and Renata were already there, eating.  
Harry sat down across from Renata and Ron sat across from Hermione. The Prophet landed in front of Hermione and she put some money in the pouch on the owl's leg and began to read, with her face totally hidden behind the paper. She gave a tiny gasp and lowered the paper enough to look at Harry before hiding behind it again.  
"What is it?" asked Harry, breaking off from his conversation with Ron.  
"Oh, nothing. I'll tell you later." She tried to put the paper away.  
"Lemme see it," said Renata, taking hold of the newspaper and opening it before her facing. After about a minute's reading she looked around the side of the paper at Harry. She shuddered. "She's right," Renata said briskly. "You've got Defense Against the Dark Arts next. That's important. You don't need to read this now. Or ever." Those last two words were a mumble.  
Harry made a grab for the paper but Renata passed it to Ron instead. "Don't let him read it!" she warned.  
Ron opened the newspaper and his reaction was much like Renata and Hermione's. He blinked at Harry, "Blimey."  
Hermione took out her wand and set fire to the paper as Harry started to reach for it. "What'd you do that for?"  
"You don't need to read that right now, Harry," she said firmly. Ron and Renata nodded agreement.  
"I promise to tell you all about it after class," said Renata.  
It was nearing time for class so they made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Seamus and Dean were already waiting, talking with Parvati and Lavender.  
Dean looked up at the newcomers, "Harry, did you read your paper this morning?" His gaze was uneasy.  
"No, somebody torched it before I could read it." Harry glared at Hermione.  
Neville came up behind Harry. "In that case I think you'd better read mine." He stuck out his copy of the Prophet and Harry took it before Renata, Ron, or Hermione could say a word. What he read sent a cold chill down his spine.  
  
Peter Pettigrew Back From the Grave  
  
Peter Pettigrew was thought to be dead for 14 years.  
Thought to have been murdered by Sirius Black. That is  
until just 2 years ago when Peter Pettigrew was discovered  
alive and it was found out that he was a Deatheater, who  
had been working closely with You-Know-Who. 3 witnesses  
saw Pettigrew torturing a 2 Muggle-borns last night.  
Pettigrew then turned on a one of the witnesses and killed  
her while the other two sent up a distress signal.  
Unfortunately Pettigrew Disapperated before the proper  
authorities arrived. If you see this man contact the  
Ministry at once. Minister Fletcher says, "The old  
Minister was certainly asleep on the job but you can count  
on me to get things done right the first time; I won't put  
an innocent man in Azkaban for 12 years without a trial,  
unlike some people." This is statement is a deliberate  
attack on former Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.  
Pettigrew killed twelve Muggles 16 years ago with a single  
curse. He should be considered armed and dangerous, do not  
attempt to capture him yourself.  
  
Underneath article was a rather old picture of Pettigrew. Harry stood numb.  
Harry didn't notice Dumbledore approach and shepherd the rest of the class inside, whispering on his way, "Miss Delano, stay here a moment with him and help him sort things out."  
Harry didn't notice Renata come over and put her arms around him. "It's okay. You see why we didn't want to show you the article? We were trying to protect you."  
"It's not going to be okay."  
"It will. They'll catch him."  
"No. Why didn't I kill him when I had the chance?"  
"Because you're a good guy."  
"I should have killed him. Why didn't I?"  
"He was your dad's friend, Harry."  
"He was a traitor. He betrayed my parents! He as good as killed them."  
"Your mom believed there was good in everybody. Just look at Snape or Draco. They aren't completely lost." Her words were soothing but Harry didn't want to be soothed.  
"It doesn't matter! Draco's always going to be a git, Snape's always going to hate me, Voldemort will always be evil, and Pettigrew will always be a traitor!"  
"Harry, one day, one day soon it seems, you're going to stop Voldemort for good and we're going to be there to help you. You can count on that. You can count on me."  
The anger slowly melted out of Harry. "But he might kill us all first," he said solemnly. "I won't let him kill you."  
"Don't talk crazy, Harry." She sounded scared, or at least startled. "You always win. Always." She gave him a quick hug. "We'd better get to class."  
"Right." He followed her inside and they took their seats at the front of the room.  
Dumbledore explained, "We've been discussing this morning's edition of the Daily Prophet. Now, Minister Fletcher's words in the Pettigrew article reveal quite a bit more than he actually says. Anyone care to take a stab at some of the hidden meanings? It's reading between the lines as we have discussed before. Yes, Mister Longbottom?"  
"Like the paper says, Fletcher's making a deliberate attack against Fudge. And he seems kind of on the defensive. He hasn't even been in office more than a few months and he's already trying to defend himself before anything negative has even been said."  
"Very good. But, I have one minor correction, it was Bartimas Crouch, who sent Sirius Black to Azkaban without a trial, although it certainly would have been in Fudge's power to require a trial, but he didn't. Does anyone know what consequences will likely come from this statement? Yes, Mister Weasley?"  
"I bet he's going to get hate-mail from Fudge's supporters."  
"Correct, Mister Weasley. In fact he and I have been in contact and he has already begun to receive many owls."  
"But not all of them are bad?" asked Hermione.  
"No, some whole heartedly agree with his statement, other's did send letters objecting to what he said. They said that the minister should appear neutral concerning the ex-minister."  
The discussion continued along this course until the end of the class period. "Excellent discussion, class," Dumbledore told them as they gathered their books.  
"Professor, can I talk to you a minute?"  
"Of course, Harry. As many minutes as you need. I'm all ears." Dumbledore sat down on top of his desk.  
"Well, sir."  
"The article?"  
Harry nodded.  
"I'd be happy to discuss it with you, but you might be better off writing to Remus Lupin or Sirius. I understand that you are angry over your third year and not disposing of Pettigrew then, but you did what your father would have done. I can guarantee that."  
Harry nodded. "There's something else though."  
"Anything, Harry."  
He took a deep breath, "Professor Trelawny's death, sir. I don't believe it was an accident. Like you said, she was murdered. But why murder that old bat?"  
"She died because she knew too much."  
"I don't understand, sir."  
"As you may remember from your third year, Sybil Trelawny does not remember anything she says in her visions, few though they are. But in this instance she was told what she said. And she agreed that for the good of everyone involved to have a charm placed upon her that if ever she was exposed to Veritaserum or put under a Cruciatius Curse, or the Imperius Curse, she would instantly die. This is a rare charm used only once or twice before throughout history to guard the most highly prized secrets."  
"Would this secret happen to be the Prophecies of the Boy to Destroy the Dark Lord?"  
"How did you learn about that, Harry?"  
"Rumors. And a long lost written copy of the Prophecy."  
"Where did you obtain the copy?"  
"From Hermione, she copied it out of a book from the library years ago. But when she returned the book Madam Pince burned it. Is the prophecy about me, sir?"  
"Yes, Harry. I should have told you about it sooner. That prophecy is, to all indications, about you. Beyond a doubt."  
"Why me?"  
"Because of who you are, Harry. Your parents have asked me to keep this information from you. I can't reveal to you the secrets of their past. But when you graduate, should you live long enough to graduate, I will give you journals written by them that will answer all your questions. I'm free anytime you need to talk, Harry, but I can't tell you everything."  
"Yes, sir." Harry felt his knees go weak. This was still an awful lot to swallow.  
"Harry, what's your next class?"  
"History of Magic."  
"What do you say to not going to class? I have no class to teach and have the whole next period free. I'll excuse you from Professor Binn's class and you and I can take a trip if you'd like. Or you can go back to the Gryffindor house and rest a bit."  
"I think I'll go with you, sir."  
"I was hoping you'd say that. Come to my office after you say goodbye to your friends. You may miss more than one class."  
"I don't know where they are."  
"Harry, I assure you they are still right outside the door there. Come to my office when you can."  
"Thank you, professor." He followed Dumbledore to the door and sure enough, Hermione, Ron, and Renata were waiting for him.  
"Come on you'll be late for Binns's class."  
"I'm not going?"  
"Where are you going?"  
"I'm not sure. But I'm following Dumbledore."  
"Alright. You take care of yourself," said Renata, straightening the collar on his robes, "I guess I've got to finally break my promise to Sirius and leave you alone. Don't you dare leave Dumbledore's side!"  
"I won't, Ren. Trust me." Harry gave her a hug. "Bye, Ron. Bye, Hermione. I'll see you later."  
"Bye, Harry." 


	20. Old Friends

Harry went to Dumbledore's office and stood in front of the fire.  
"You know how to travel by Floo powder, Harry?"  
Harry nodded.  
"Good. We're going to Versispellis Villa." He offered a pot of green powder to Harry.  
Harry nodded again and threw the shimmering powder at the flames. "Versispellis Villa!" When the fire let him go again he was standing in a cozy kitchen/living room. It appeared to be a kitchen but with a sofa sagging against the wall beside a rather small table. The archway that led out of the kitchen/living room was suddenly occupied by a man with shabby robes and prematurely gray hair and a man with a shaggy mane of black hair. The black haired man gave a bark-like laugh, "Harry!" He ran to Harry and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug.  
"Sirius, it's good to see you too but let me breathe!" laughed Harry.  
Sirius let go of him and ruffled Harry's hair. "You look more like James everyday."  
Remus came and greeted Harry too, with a handshake that midway he changed to a hug. "It's good to see you, but shouldn't you be in class?"  
Dumbledore appeared from inside the fire. "Harry just learned some startling things that he'd like to share with the two of you."  
Harry saw Remus, Sirius, and Dumbledore exchange a meaningful look over his head.  
"Harry, do you want me to stay?" asked Dumbledore.  
"No thank you, professor."  
"We'll send him back to school when he's done, Albus," said Remus.  
"Goodbye, Harry. To get back to my office the name registered with the Floo network is Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. It's also one of the few places on the network that requires a password, the password is.love." Dumbledore went back threw the fire.  
"Sit, by all means sit!" said Remus, ushering Harry to the sofa. Sirius joined him. "I'll make some tea. It'll only take a moment." True to his word, Remus returned with a kettle of steaming tea and 3 chipped mugs not long after.  
"So how have things been?"  
"We won the Quiditch game on Saturday."  
"That's terrific! Was it against Slytherin?"  
"No. Ravenclaw. We had cheerleaders."  
"They brought back the cheerleading teams?" asked Sirius, a gleam in his eye.  
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.  
Lupin said, "Well, when we were at school some people managed to convince Dumbledore to allow cheerleading teams. But the cheerleading came to an end when some of the members of the Quiditch team weren't exactly very respectful to them." He shot a meaningful glance at Sirius.  
Sirius tried to be innocent, he wasn't. "James and I just gave them a hard time is all! Not that bad." He looked a little sheepish. "All the girls loved me."  
"Yes, and the still do," said Lupin, dryly. "Find you absolutely irresistible."  
"What can I say? The chicks totally dug me. Anyway, James was trying to make Lily jealous. He could've had any girl he wanted but he really only had eyes for her."  
"I know the feeling," said Harry.  
"What?"  
"Renata and I got back together after the game."  
Harry expected Sirius to tell him not to let his schoolwork suffer (as he'd said last year when Harry was dating Renata) or for Lupin to say it (Lupin had been the good boy of their group). Instead Sirius and Remus exchanged looks and then Sirius said firmly, "Good. You should be having fun this year. But you know important things will be happening this year outside of school. And you got to keep your guard up, despite anything that any of us can do, Voldemort is going to find you sooner or later and you have to be ready for him."  
"Sirius is right, Harry. Nothing we can do or say will shield you from him, but we're going to do all that we can. No one, especially someone your age, on the threshold of manhood, should have to carry the burdens that you must carry. For this I'm truly sorry."  
"I know about the prophecy."  
"Well, Remus, it was only a matter of time before he found out. We always knew that."  
"You're right, Sirius. Only a matter of time. Okay, Harry. We're here to answer any questions for you that we can."  
"Dumbledore mentioned journals."  
"Journals that you can't have access to yet, Harry. We're keeping them safe for you. But you can't have them yet."  
"Why not? I know my parents didn't want me to but-"  
"That mother of yours put a charm on them. If you open them before you turn 18 they'll burst into flames."  
"Lily was handy with a wand. Remus, do you remember the time when you, me and James switched her ink bottle with disappearing ink when she was taking that History of Magic exam in our 3rd year?"  
"Yes, if I remember correctly it was your idea."  
"I only did it because James wanted an excuse for Lilly to ask to borrow his ink. He wanted an excuse to talk to her."  
"But instead, after class she turned our ears green and had PRAT written on our foreheads with some type of ink that wouldn't come off for a week."  
"Good times, good times," said Sirius. "But I don't think you're here to listen to us reminiscing our youth, are you, Harry?"  
"Not right now." He smiled sadly. "But just so you know, Sirius, Renata's been taking very good care of me since your letter. Doesn't let me out of her sight and when she does she sets somebody else to watch me and threatens to hex them if they don't do their job. She didn't want to let me come with Dumbledore here. Not that she knew where I was even going." He sighed. "I should stop rambling. Did the two of you read this morning's paper?"  
"Yes, Harry. We did."  
"It's his fault my parents are dead, almost as much his fault as Voldemort's. He's worse than evil, he's a traitor. You guys and my parents trusted him. And he went just sold you all out! He's worse than a rat! He made a better rat than a man! He worse than Malfoy! At least Malfoy is loyal to his friends, most of the time. Pettigrew was a sellout!" It felt good to release this anger.  
"We know, Harry."  
"Harry, I had twelve long years to think about that day in and day out in my cell. Four years ago you told us to spare him, and we did, it's what James would have done. But James was a much more forgiving person than I am, Harry, and if that rodent and I ever cross paths again he won't escape. I'm not so forgiving as James, and I'll end his life. I promise you."  
"I know, Sirius." There was a solemn moment. "What do you think of the new Minister?"  
"He's already received death threats. They're assigning two Auror's as part-time bodyguards. If things get worse he may need full-time ones. I wouldn't be surprised to see him or his bodyguards assassinated before the end of the year."  
"Really?"  
"Welcome to the real world, Harry. As you know already, it's harsh."  
Harry sighed, "I guess it's true what they say."  
"And what's that?"  
"Life's tough, get a helmet," quoted Harry.  
"It's true enough. What are your post-Hogwarts plans?"  
"I haven't given it much thought. I don't know if I'll even be around after Hogwarts. "  
Sirius and Remus made no reply to this.  
"A few years ago I thought I might like to be an Auror. But I was younger then, naïve. If I live through this year I'm not sure I want to spend my life chasing after bad guys or having them chase me. Maybe I'll go into teaching. Something peaceful.like Charms. Flitwick's been there long enough. Probably getting ready to retire or die soon," Harry rambled on, distracted and saying whatever came to mind. "Not going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. After this year I just want to forget it all. I'll settle down. Get a house, marry, have a family, and die quietly. As long as he doesn't get me first. If he does. " Harry trailed off, his eyes wide and unfocused.  
Sirius responded quietly, "We understand perfectly, Harry. You've got a lot on your shoulders. Too much for a boy your age."  
Harry looked at his watch. "I've missed the rest of today's classes," he said abruptly, standing up. "I should be going. It was great talking to you both. I really needed it. Thanks."  
"We're here for you anytime, Harry, remember that." Sirius hugged him tight, not wanting to let go.  
Eventually Sirius let go and Remus gave Harry a hug, whispering to him, "I hope you reach that happy vision, Harry. For various reasons, the four Maruaders weren't so lucky. Of the four of us only James reached that happy period of contentment, but because of Voldemort, that didn't last longer than a few years."  
Harry nodded. He stepped up the fireplace and through a pinch of Floo powder into the flames, "Headmaster's office at Hogwarts."  
A crackly voice that sounded much like metal grating on metal, or like the crackling fire itself replied, "Password?"  
"Love."  
The flames swallowed him and soon Harry was back within Dumbledore's office. 


	21. To School Again

"Welcome back, Harry. I'm sure your friends have saved you seats at the table. Dinner's just starting," Dumbledore's face was it's usual calm, bright-eyed cheeriness.  
"Thank you," Harry said hoarsely.  
"Oh, they saved the seats for you, not I."  
"No. Thank you for letting me speak to them."  
"Did it help at all?"  
"Some," Harry answered truthfully.  
"That was all that could be expected. No amount of talking can clear these problems entirely."  
"I know, sir." Harry said this with a heavy heart. "May I be excused?"  
"By all means, go see your friends. If you're up to telling them, I'm sure they'd be interested to know how your day went after my class."  
Harry nodded and left. He wasn't sure how much he was going to tell them, but he knew they'd ask. True to Dumbledore's word, there was an empty space between Renata and Hermione.  
"I'm glad you're back," Renata whispered to him as he sat down.  
"Where did you go, Harry?" asked Ron, shoving a plate of food to him from across the table.  
"I saw Lupin and Sirius."  
"How were they?"  
"Pretty good. I think Sirius was there at Lupin's house because the full moon is tomorrow."  
"Speaking of tomorrow, you still want to go, don't you?" asked Renata.  
"I guess," Harry suddenly found himself to be quite sleepy. He'd encountered a lot of information today.  
His friends seemed to sense this. Hermione said, "Harry, whatever you want to tell us about what you discussed, we'll listen; anything you want to keep to yourself, we understand," Hermione told him gently.  
"Thanks. My parents left me journals of theirs. To read."  
"Wow. What do they say?"  
"If I open them before I'm 18 they'll burst into flames and be lost forever. If I live long enough, I'll read them."  
There wasn't really any sort of reassuring response they could honestly make to this, so his friends stayed silent.  
Harry went on, "Sirius reckons somebody'll try and kill Fletcher."  
"Why would somebody want to kill the minister?"  
"To throw the rest of us into a bit of chaos."  
"What about Pettigrew?"  
"If Sirius finds him, there'll be no mercy." He sighed. "And there's no doubt about what'll happen between me and Voldemort. It's going to happen. That prophecy."  
"You don't believe in divination," Hermione said briskly.  
"No. It's not always wrong. That's why Trelawny was murdered. She knew too much."  
"But. . ."  
"She knew too much, Hermione. And it was because of a prediction she made. It was about me."  
"So, now what?" asked Renata.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Are you going to put your whole life on pause just because some old coot says you're going to die at the hands of Voldemort?"  
"You read the Prophecy yourself, Renata. Remember? Took it right out of my hands. I might die, but more importantly one of my friends is going to die and I'd rather die myself than let anything happen to the three of you."  
"It's not a certain thing. Just a prediction."  
"Well, it won't happen if I can help it," Harry said, staunchly.  
"Harry, you're forgetting something. The prophecy said 5 friends to help you. And that you weren't going to want our help. It said you're going to fight us the whole way about helping you, but we're going to help you anyway. Besides, quit being so morbid. I know you, you like living, therefore you won't die unless you act like you're going to and that's the impression I'm getting right now. You're putting your whole life on hold over some maybes. You don't want to do that. Remember, 'Live life like there's no tomorrow, but plan for every tomorrow.' Or something like that. For now: live." Renata smiled warmly at Harry and he began to feel better.  
"Besides," said Ron, "without you, we'll never win the Quiditch cup."  
  
Read and Review please! 


	22. Ramblings in the Village

Author's Note: Next chapter will go up when I get reviews so R&R! (  
  
The next day Harry got up feeling quite refreshed. That is, refreshed until all the memories of what he'd learned yesterday came flooding back. There was a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. No, he told himself, for today I'm going to forget all that. For today I'm going to be normal. I'm going to enjoy a nice date with my girlfriend. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I can go back to saving the world. But not today. He got dressed and went downstairs. Neville was already in the common room.  
"Hey, Nev? You wanna play Gobstones?"  
"Er, okay."  
They got out their games and played, neither asking what dreams or thoughts it was that brought the other awake so early on a Saturday when they'd normally sleep-in.  
"Harry, did you know I started taking self-defense lessons over the summer?"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. It was a Muggle class though, if you believe it. Taught me how to kick some major butt the next time Malfoy tries something."  
"That's great, Neville." He sincerely meant it; he hated watching Neville get picked on.  
"Thanks. I can show you some moves if you want to try."  
Harry looked around the common room. No one else was there yet. "Alright. I'll give it a shot." They moved aside some of the tables and chairs to make room for them to workout.  
First Neville led him through basic stretches and they jogged in place to help warm their bodies up. Neville started demonstrating some of the basic kicks: side kick, back kick, front kick, and a roundhouse kick (the roundhouse was a little trickier). He advised Harry on how to keep his fists up in a proper defensive stance and where to put his feet. Harry soon caught on and was able to perform the kicks nearly without flaw. They conjured a punching bag each to work with and practiced their kicks against the bags. As Neville had warned, kicking the bag was quite different from kicking air; if you were just kicking air you weren't as likely to lose your balance.  
Dean and Seamus were the next downstairs. Shortly followed by Ron. They saw what Neville and Harry were doing and joined in, picking the moves up as they went along.  
Neville instructed them on some combinations to do. Front kick (right leg), back kick (right leg), front kick (left leg), roundhouse kick (right leg). Side kick (left), front kick (left), side kick (right).  
After an hour or so of practice Neville had them all working on punches. First sans punching bag, then with the punching bag.  
Dean had made the mistake of trying to punch the bag before putting on his gloves. It hurt.  
They hardly noticed the others coming down the stairs as Neville led them through different combinations with punching and kicking. "Right jab, left jab, front kick left, roundhouse right," he commanded. He ran them through 8 more combinations before telling them to take a breather. It wasn't until they were taking this 3-minute rest that Harry and the other's noticed the small crowd, which had gathered in the common room to watch them.  
Harry wasn't sure about the others but he definitely felt a bit embarrassed, however, he didn't let it show, even when Renata whistled at him and yelled, "Why'd you stop, muscle man?" She had a mad grin on her face. Many of the students standing near her laughed.  
Harry shrugged it off. "Excuse me, I've got to go shower or I won't be going out with you," he said to her, making his way up the stairs.  
Renata wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, you better shower. You stink."  
Harry ignored her. By midmorning he was showered, dressed again, and eating in the Great Hall with Renata, Hermione, and the other boys from his dormitory (as well as anybody else who still happened to be there of course).  
Hermione asked, "So why were all of you downstairs working on martial arts? Planning a fight?"  
"No. We just woke up early and didn't have anything better to do," said Seamus.  
Renata leaned back casually in her seat, "You seemed to be ring- leading the whole affair, Nev. I take it this is what you were busy with all summer?"  
"Yeah. Gran thought it'd be a good idea if I could defend myself. I'm going to take some dueling lessons over Christmas break. I couldn't take that class over summer because of the restriction on under-aged magic."  
"Dueling lessons?"  
"Well, not really dueling. Magic self-defense," Neville admitted.  
A shy-looking girl approached the table; Harry didn't recognize her. "Nevvie? I thought you were going to take me to Hogsmeade today. We made plans, remember?" She smiled coyly at him.  
"Okay, just a minute, Riana, I'll be right there." Neville turned back to his friends, blushing, "I guess I'll be going now. Bye."  
When Neville was out of earshot Ginny exclaimed, "Ha! So that's it."  
"What?" asked Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Renata (Dean and Seamus had left shortly after Neville had).  
Ginny grinned mischievously. "Riana is a Hufflepuff in my year. I heard she was dating a Gryffindor. I had no idea it was Neville."  
"Neville's got a girlfriend?" Ron asked incredulously.  
"It appears so."  
"How was it we didn't notice?" asked Harry.  
"Speak for yourself," said Hermione, "I knew he was dating someone, I just wasn't sure who it was. I only knew that it wasn't someone in our year.  
Ren wrinkled her nose. "I can't believe he lets her call him 'Nevvie'."  
"People are strange, Ren," said Harry.  
"I guess. But no stupid nicknames for me. I'm Renata or Ren. You call me anything else and I'll break your arm, I swear I will. Or at least twist it."  
"I know," Harry said. He believed she might break someone's arm. He'd seen her pull a guy's arm behind his back and twist it into a very painful position when he called her "babe".  
"Since that's settled, I think we should be going." Renata promptly stood and began to walk away, obviously expecting Harry to follow.  
Harry lingered at the table a minute, "Hey, this is supposed to be Ren and mine's first date since getting back together, so. . .?"  
"Wha-" Ron started. But Hermione interrupted him.  
"Don't worry, Harry. We'll stay out of your way," said Hermione firmly. "Enjoy yourself."  
He smiled. "Thanks, Hermione." He ran to catch up to Renata. "Hey." He smiled at her.  
"Hey." She smiled back.  
He took her hand and they continued the walk to Hogsmeade.  
"So what's the real reason you were down in the common room so early?" she asked.  
"Real reason?"  
"Don't be stupid, Harry. It's not very attractive."  
"I woke up and remembered everything about yesterday. Everything I talked about with Dumbledore, Sirius, and Lupin. I didn't want to think about it. Not today. I wanted today to be good, normal. I want to forget for at least today. Please?"  
"Alright. If you say so."  
"Thanks."  
Together, they entered Hogsmeade.  
The first stop was Honeydukes. "Chocolate will make you feel better. Everybody loves chocolate," she said firmly.  
In fact, the chocolate did help. They decided now was as good a time as any to start on their Christmas shopping and went to Zonkos, Gladrags, and a stationary store. At the stationary story Harry bought himself a journal at Renata recommendation. She told him it would help funnel all his feelings and what he was thinking.  
"I keep a journal too," she said. (A/N: entries from her Diary are going to appear in a later chapter).  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. Hermione does, too, you know."  
"She does?"  
"Yeah. I'm hungry. Let's go have lunch over in the Three Broomsticks. They serve food there too, right?"  
"Yeah." They headed on over there, ordered some fried chicken, French fries, and Butterbeer. They sat down at a table.  
"How did Hermione get her parents to agree to her coming back to Hogwarts? Or did they agree? She never mentioned it to me."  
"She sat her parents down rationally and explained things to them."  
"Really?"  
"No. She made them sit down and she explained that she'd be coming back to Hogwarts with or without their permission. She told them that she had her chance to make a difference in the world and she was going to take it. She also emphasized that the wizarding world was her place now and they couldn't keep her from it."  
"So basically she told them that they didn't have a choice in the matter?"  
"Yup."  
"This year is important, isn't it?" Harry asked.  
"Yeah."  
"Things are going to move fast this year. I'm sure Hagrid's death isn't the last. There's going to be others. I don't want one of them to be you."  
"Nonsense, Harry. I'll be fine. You worry too much."  
"Yeah, but that's because you give me plenty of reasons to worry."  
"Me?"  
"You're reckless."  
"Never!"  
"Always."  
"Well, so are you," she grumbled. "That's why somebody's got to keep an eye on you."  
"I don't need-"  
"Yeah. You do. Somebody's always been watching out for you. Your parents, your aunt and uncle, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, Ron, Hermione, me, even Neville and Ginny too. Always watching out for you. And we always will watch out for you. I'll always have your back. You can count on me."  
"Thanks, Ren. That means a lot to me." They finished eating. He was quiet for a while and they went outside, they walked a while, wherever their feet happened to lead.  
"Harry," she said suddenly. "Why is it that it was so important for you to forget all that today?"  
"Because . . . Oh. Ren." He threw his hands in the air and let them drop down helplessly. "I just want to be normal."  
She nodded. "All right." She gave him a gentle kiss. "For today no troubles. But, Harry, after the last seven years how do you even possibly define 'normal' anymore?" she said gently. "Eight years ago you would have defined it as a kid living with his parents, going to school, growing up, leaving home, getting a job, getting married, dying quietly old and retired. The possibility of strange powers or being a wizard never entered your mind. Seven years ago you found out about Hogwarts and expected a normal wizard's life. Not for you. You're special and you've got to deal with it."  
He nodded. "I will, but not today. Sometimes I swear you're the only thing in this world that keeps me sane. The little world inside my head is held together by a few things I know will always be true. Dumbledore will always be able to control any situation. Malfoy will always be an evil git. Ron and Hermione will always fight. And you'll always boss me around, win just about any argument, break into my mind, and I'll still love you anyway. But I'm not so sure about the first three anymore. As powerful as he is, Dumbledore isn't all-powerful. Malfoy does have something of a heart, even if he won't show it. And Ron and Hermione, they love each other; sure they still fight and they always will but they don't fight so much. You're my one rock in this sea of turmoil. I need you in my life or I'll go crazy."  
"Don't worry. I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere, Harry." She hugged him.  
Harry gave her a long kiss before the two of them carried their shopping bags with them on the way back to Hogwarts. They passed by the Three Broomsticks Harry noticed something in the window he hadn't seen before. "Hey!"  
"What is it?"  
"Three Broomsticks is hosting a dance on Christmas day. If we can get out of Hogwarts do you want to go?"  
"Okay. It sounds fun."  
"Great." They continued on their way. 


	23. Chitchat

(Okay this chapter is kind of short and useless but, oh, well)  
  
Back in the common Hermione asked, "Did the two of you have a good time in Hogsmeade?"  
"Yeah," said Harry.  
"Good."  
"Did the two of you see the sign in the window at the Three Broomsticks?" asked Renata.  
"The Christmas dance? Yes, we saw it," said Hermione.  
"Well, are you two going to try to sneak out and go?" asked Renata.  
"Well." Hermione hesitated.  
"Well, what?" demanded Renata.  
"Ron didn't ask me to go to the dance with him." Hermione shot him a withering look and Ron cringed down in his seat, his ears turning red.  
"I can't dance," he muttered.  
"Ron, you dance fine," said Renata.  
He just shook his head.  
Hermione glared at him. "If you don't believe her, at least believe me. I've danced with you and you are a very good dancer. Will you go to the Three Broomsticks with me on Christmas?"  
Ron's answer seemed somewhat choked, "Yes!"  
"Good." She settled back on the sofa and put her arm around Ron.  
"Why are you frowning, Harry?" asked Renata.  
"Just something I was thinking about. I can't believe it. I actually miss divination. I don't miss Trelawny but some of the stuff we were supposed to learn this year might actually have been useful."  
"Like what?" asked Hermione, disdainfully; they all knew how much she loathed divinations. It was almost as much as Harry loathed potions.  
"Telepathy. That was supposed to be this year. Imagine being able to talk to each other inside our heads. Don't you think it's useful?" asked Harry.  
"Why would I bother, Harry? I can read your mind whenever I feel like it," Renata told him smugly.  
Before Harry could react, she was reciting the mind reading spell. After a few minutes she said, "Thanks for the compliment. But you're wrong, I have every right to step inside your brain whenever I want." She grinned. "Come on, Hermione, I'm tired."  
Hermione followed her without argument even though it was still early. Obviously they wanted to talk out of the boys' earshot.  
"So what were you thinking?" asked Ron.  
"That she shouldn't be allowed to enter my mind without asking."  
"And the compliment?"  
Harry blushed. "I thought she looked gorgeous sitting there."  
Ron grinned. "I can tell there's an 'and' in there somewhere."  
"And I wished we were by ourselves."  
"Ha! You wanted a lip-lock."  
"So? What if I wanted to kiss her? She's my girlfriend. It's not a crime. Besides, I saw the way you were looking at Hermione."  
"Bu-"  
"Don't deny it. Both of us are really happy to be with them again and that's all there is too it." Harry grinned.  
"You're right about that, Harry. Definitely right about that." 


	24. Last Day Before the Christmas Holidays

The next four weeks seemed to fly by. Classes, homework, and Quiditch really loaded Harry's schedule, and with Renata's constant following him (still obeying her promise to Sirius) he never seemed to have a moment to himself.  
It was the 21 first of December. The air was cool and crisp and everyone was getting ready to leave Hogwarts for their Christmas vacations with their parents. Harry's last class was potions. It seemed even longer than usual.  
"Class, I realize you are impatient to be on your break but control yourselves. No speaking or I shall assign everyone detention."  
Nobody wanted detention just before Christmas break. Everyone was on their best behavior (or the best they could manage under the circumstances), even Harry, Renata, Ron, and Hermione.  
Finally Snape dismissed them.  
"FREEDOM!" yelled Ron, as soon as they'd exited the room.  
"I was thinking," said Harry to none of them in particular, "maybe we should go home for Christmas. I mean, you know, be with our families."  
"Families?" asked Ron, blinking. "But you don't want to stay with the Dursleys! They're hardly family anyway. Come stay with me. All three of you are welcome to. Mum loves you guys."  
Harry said quietly, "I wasn't thinking about the Dursleys. I was going to stay with Sirius."  
"We understand if you want to stay home and spend time with Sirius," Hermione said gently. "We'll survive a single Christmas without you."  
"No, I want you three to come too, if you want. I mean, I don't want to be that alone for 2 weeks," he said.  
"I'm not going home over the holidays," said Hermione. "This is our last year at Hogwarts. It's our last Christmas here. I'm staying. I can have plenty of Christmases with my parents and sister."  
"Besides," said Renata turning to Harry, "You promised to take me to the dance. I suppose you can get there with Floo Powder but that's just not as much fun as sneaking out of the castle. Are you staying, Ron?"  
"Are you kidding? Of course I'm staying. What, go home and get pranks pulled on me again by Fred and George? I think I'd rather take my chances here with Malfoy."  
"This is our last Christmas here. I'm staying," Harry said. He smiled and found that Renata was already grinning at him.  
"I knew you would," said Renata.  
"Tomorrow's the last official Hogsmeade day, and the beginning of the Christmas vacation."  
"What'd you say to slipping something into Snape's drink tonight?" grinned Harry.  
"How?"  
"Well." said Harry. "I thought we'd put something into one of our drinks and-"  
"Use a switching spell to switch that drink with Snape's," finished Renata. Her eyes were gleaming. "Malfoy's too!"  
"Yeah. Malfoy's too."  
"All right." They began plotting just what they were going to do to Malfoy and Snape as they entered the Gryffindor common room.  
At dinner that night they slipped some "Pest Pop" (sent to them a week before by Fred and George) into Ron and Harry's drinks. Shortly after the meal started they used a switching spell. They made sure they had seats that would let them easily see the Slytherin table and staff table without being too obvious. It was hilarious.  
Snape was talking to one of the professors, he took a sip of what was in his goblet, and suddenly, Snape was no longer there. In Snape's place was a Snape-sized beetle.  
It was only minutes later that the same happened to Draco Malfoy.  
Many of those in the Great Hall burst out laughing until some smarty- pants Ravenclaw had figured out what counter-curse to use and returned them to their normal state of awfulness.  
"Oh, well. That was fun while it lasted."  
  
Hey, if anybody's still reading this, sorry this chapter's so short and sorry it's been so long since I updated. Writer's block. But I'm going to try and start working on it again. 


	25. Christmas Eve

The next few days were spent in a relative state of relaxation. Christmas Eve, Harry saw Renata sitting in the common room, writing in what looked like a journal of some sort.  
"What are you doing?" He sat down next to her and put an arm around her.  
She snapped the journal shut. "Nothing."  
"It didn't look like nothing. Let me see that book."  
"No, it's my journal. If you ever read it, I'd have to kill you."  
"Oh." He was silent. "Please, let me read it." It'd be great to know how her mind worked, he'd had enough trouble trying to figure it out.  
"No. Here, let's play checkers." She summoned a checkers board and they played. Renata pouted when she lost but Harry didn't care. Normally she won, so her losing was refreshing. Hermione and Ron watched the game and the four of them stayed up talking.  
Finally, everyone was exhausted.  
"So we'll see you two in the morning like usual?" asked Ron, stretching his arms.  
"Sure." Hermione gave him a kiss before going up the stairs to the girls' dorm.  
Renata kissed Harry and took the checkers game upstairs with her, "G'night!" she called.  
"Harry, are you coming?" asked Ron.  
"I'll be there in a minute." Harry noticed that Renata had forgotten her diary.  
Ron followed his gaze. "Don't even think about it, Harry. I bet she hexed it."  
"Aren't you even a little curious, Ron?"  
"Yeah, but I'm not stupid. Read it if you want, it's your funeral." Ron shrugged and went up to the boys' dormitory. Harry didn't follow.  
Harry saw it lying there and he had to know. He just had to. He picked up Renata's diary, hoping it went back far enough. He cracked the book open and since there seemed to be no repercussions he decided it was safe to read. He looked through until he found Christmas day, 1996.  
  
Well, he finally did it. That charming idiot finally kissed me.  
Granted I had to dare him months ago and I had to get him alone  
and secretly put mistletoe above us but still . . . it was beyond  
words. His mouth . . . It was hard to pretend to be mad at him  
when I did see him later. But I acted mad all the same and he's  
been avoiding me. I wonder how long I'll be able to keep up this  
little act. How can he be so blind? I'm going to have to think of  
a way to find out what he thinks. I wonder whether he really is  
as oblivious as he is acting or if he's just not interested. I  
don't know which. Hermione, I'll do what I can about Ron. But I  
can't make any promises. I know he likes you. He just doesn't  
quite know it yet. I'll see you later. I'm formulating a plan for  
Valentines Day though. I'll tell you when I know more.  
  
Renata  
  
The curved and graceful signature could be only Renata's. Harry saw the adjacent page was filled with Hermione's tidy writing.  
  
When is he going to wake up and notice me? Sometimes I think he  
is a little uncomfortable around me as if maybe he does like me  
but sometimes he acts as though I'm one of his brothers and he  
teases me like he does them. It makes me so mad that I want to  
stick live spiders in his bed! He hates those. Anthony though. He  
gives me a lot of attention. I'll admit he's cute but he's  
obnoxious too. And I don't like him; I like Ron. When is Ron  
going to wake up? I need help, Renata.  
  
Hermione  
  
The writing and the signature were certainly Hermione's. He wondered why Hermione had an entry in Renata's diary. He looked through the rest of it. A page from Renata, a page from Hermione from the same day. Why would they use the same diary?  
Harry began to read Renata's entry from Valentines Day of their 6th year. It was very interesting. She'd mostly sent the cards to herself to confuse Harry, and Hermione had done the same to startle Ron. Then there were no more entries until they got back from that weird other dimension they'd been in. That entry was long, going over just about everything that had happened. Very informative. He found an entry from a couple days after.  
  
RENATA'S DIARY February 22, 1997  
I'm wretched. I'm an absolutely horrible person. I like him so  
much. I love him. And just look at how I treat him. I need to  
stop playing games with him but not until he tells me he likes  
me. I'm not going to pour out my heart and soul unless he tells  
me to my face that he cares about me. It wouldn't matter if he  
told everyone in Hogwarts but me, I would still act this way. I'm  
awful, aren't I? Well, I don't care. Yes, I do. I care. I cried  
in front of him. I can't believe I did that. I wept in his arms  
like a little baby. I promised myself I wouldn't make a fool of  
myself in front of him or any man. I mean to keep that promise.  
Never again. I'm not going to cry. Not where he can see me at  
least. Oh, I'm an awful person, aren't I? Tough I guess. This is  
who I am and I don't plan to change, not for him or any man and  
that's a simple fact that we'll just all have to face I guess. I  
love him but nobody can expect me to tell him what he won't tell  
me first.  
  
Renata  
  
He didn't see her standing there until it was too late.  
"Expelliarmus! How could you, Harry? Reading my diary! I wouldn't have thought you'd stoop so low! Locomotor mortis!"  
Harry's legs sprang together and it was all he could do to keep from falling flat on his face.  
"I can't believe you, you. . .you. . .urgh!" Apparently she couldn't think of anything sufficiently vile to call him. "I hate you!"  
"What?"  
"READING SOMEBODY'S DIARY IS AN INVASION OF PRIVACY!"  
"So's reading my mind! That's even worse! I can't control what I'm thinking!"  
She took out her wand and started cursing him. Unfortunately she was able to through curses and hexes at him faster than he could block them. Eventually she stopped and Harry collapsed as well as he could back onto the sofa. She sat in a chair across from him. She asked quietly, "Which entries did you read?"  
"Only the ones from last year. I had to know why you put me through such h*ll."  
"You read all of last year?"  
"No. Christmas. Valentine's Day. February 22."  
"What about Hermione's entries?"  
"I only read the one from Christmas last year. Why do you both write in the same diary?"  
"This diary was the proto-type for her live-write spell. We each have a diary and what one of us writes in one diary shows up in the other's diary. It wasn't exactly easy to talk without Lavender and Parvati listening and there were things we didn't want them to hear. Besides that, sometimes having someone else know something let's you get a better perspective."  
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have read your diary. I knew it was wrong but you're so confusing I just had to find some way to possibly understand you."  
"I'm sorry I hexed you so much. Here," she conjured some tissues (Harry still had a bloody nose from one of her curses and had been sitting with his head back and his nose pointed to the ceiling, pinching his nose).  
"Thanks."  
"I put a spell on my diary. I know whenever anybody picks it up that isn't me. I get a kind of ringing in my head that let's me know. So I came downstairs, even though I knew it was you, I was shocked. I guess I was shocked because you weren't picking it up to try and bring it to me, you were reading it!"  
"I know and I said I'm sorry."  
"That's not enough, Harry. I can't just pretend you didn't break my trust and you can't just pretend you didn't read what you read." She stood and sat down over next to Harry, not as close as she normally would have.  
"What do you want me to do? I can't just erase it from my memory. Besides, the stuff I read was from a year ago."  
"That's not the point, Harry."  
He was fairly sure his nose had stopped bleeding. He could see Renata out of the corner of his eye, sitting there, beautiful. Her cheeks were pink like they always were when she was angry, she wore a slight pout, and her eyes seemed to glow. He took the tissues from his nose and leaned down to kiss her. She backed away slightly (being of course furious with him still), but he kissed her anyway. Of course, even though she was mad she was still in love with him and kissed him back anyway. When their lips were free for speaking again, a couple of minutes later, she said, "Wipe that grin from your face." She didn't sound angry though, just a little hurt. "You can't solve everything with a kiss. I'm going to have to learn to trust you; I won't be leaving my diary anywhere where you can read it. But I'm not mad anymore."  
"Do you still love me?"  
"Of course I do, idiot." She kissed him again, and stood up. "I'll see you in the morning." She turned toward the stairs.  
"Happy Christmas."  
"What?"  
"I said Happy Christmas. It's after midnight."  
"Merry Christmas, Harry." She disappeared up the stairs.  
Harry went to his dorm and fell asleep.  
  
Okay, this chapter's a little longer. I'll try to update soon. Read and Review, please! 


	26. Christmas Morning AKA Payback Time

Harry woke up and reached for his glasses. They weren't there. "Ron, where are my glasses?"  
Ron ignored him.  
"Ron?"  
No response.  
Harry looked down at the end of the bed; there weren't any presents there. None. He never got many but he'd never gotten absolutely nothing either.  
He sat up, but found he was too dizzy to stand and lay back down instead.  
This was extremely odd.  
The dormitory door burst open and Hermione came in. Harry sat up so she'd be sure to see him. But she walked right past him to Ron. She sat on the edge of his bed, waking him up and giving him a kiss. Ron sat up. Hermione went over to Neville's bed, bringing her Christmas presents with her. The two of them began talking. Completely ignoring Harry whenever he tried to talk to them. It was another 10 minutes before Renata came in.  
She ignored him too.  
"This isn't funny anymore!"  
Renata and Hermione laughed. "Okay, we've forgiven you."  
"For what?"  
"Reading our diary."  
"Why was Ron ignoring me?"  
"He wasn't," said Renata. "I snuck in early and put a charm on him to make sure he wouldn't be able to hear anything when you tried to talk to him this morning."  
"And when I came in I removed the charm, but told him to ignore you."  
Renata added, "When I was in earlier I took your glasses and hid your presents under the bed."  
"Don't forget about that potion you made him swallow," said Hermione.  
"What sort of potion?" Harry asked warily.  
"To make you dizzy."  
"You had that type of thing just lying around?"  
"No, we were saving it to use on Malfoy when the holidays were over."  
"How-"  
"I made you swallow it by pinching your nose and jamming the vial of potion between your teeth." She walked across the room to him and put her arms around him. "Here are your glasses. And here's the antidote, though the effects should be wearing off by now." She put his glasses on him and the room came abruptly into focus.  
Harry gulped the antidote; it tasted vile. "Did it have to taste so bad?" he asked, making a face at her.  
"No," she said happily. "I did that just for the fun of it. All your presents are under the bed." She gave him a kiss and helped him bring them up so he could open them. There was the usual package from Mrs. Weasley. A very nice, leather-bound, never-ending journal from Renata. A new watch from Hermione and Ron. A photo album from Remus. The album was full of pictures of Harry's parents, Remus, Sirius, a couple of young pictures of Lilly and Petunia, one Harry supposed must be his grandparents on his father's side, and many more. Sirius had sent him a set of keys on a key chain, with a note. The note said, "One key goes to my motorcycle, the other goes to my house. These are yours. The key chain is bewitched so that anytime you need your keys all you have to do is snap and say 'keys' and they'll come. Happy Christmas, Harry."  
Since they were planning on going to the dance that night, they had their annual snowball fight directly after breakfast. Ginny, Hermione, and Renata against Ron and Harry. Ron and Harry got totally creamed.  
  
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Author's Note: Okay, next chapter soon, I promise. 


	27. Surprise

I'm really sorry it's been so long since I updated but last week I had play practice 'til almost midnight every night and then shows all weekend. Then this week I had to catch up on all my homework and I've got 4 shows this weekend. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'll try to post the next one as soon as I can. Please read and review!  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata attended the Christmas Feast in high spirits, planning to sneak out directly afterward to go to the dance at the Three Broomsticks.  
Dumbledore stood to make a speech. "HAPPY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!" The students applauded. "After the meal has ended I would like to extend an invitation from the Three Broomsticks for all students 5th year and above to attend a Christmas Dance there. Students will leave at 7 p.m. for Hogsmeade and the dance shall last 'til 11. Enjoy the feast!"  
"How do you like that?" asked Renata. "He's taken all the fun out of it!"  
"What do you mean?" asked Harry, somewhat relieved that they wouldn't have to sneak out.  
"Well, he made it allowed. We don't have to sneak out. That's part of what was going to make it fun," Renata replied.  
Harry tilted his head, "You mean you can't have fun just because I'm going to be there?"  
She grinned. "I s'pose I can still have a little fun. Even if I'm just hanging out with boring old you."  
"I'm so flattered." He rolled his eyes.  
Hermione changed the topic. "Nat, you'll let me do your hair right?"  
"Who's Nat?" asked Ron and Harry.  
Renata waved her hand. "Me. I wanted to try out a new nickname. I don't like it. I'll stick to Renata."  
"Can I still call you 'Ren', Ren?" asked Harry.  
"Sure you can call me Ren. But you can't call me Ren-Ren."  
He pretended to look disappointed, "Oh, darn. How about Rennie-pie?"  
"How about I take off your shoe and make you eat it?" She glared.  
"Okay, Renata," he said hastily. Her threats were usually serious.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
That night Harry made an honest effort getting ready. He put on dark green robes with blue trim. He even made a stab at brushing his hair, but that was to no avail. Ron even washed his face before he got dressed.  
Harry and Ron met the girls down in the common room. Harry's breath caught in his throat. Renata looked stunning. Her robes were deep purple and her golden hair was curled around he face, which looked more delicate and less fierce than it normally did. Beautiful. Harry hardly noticed how wonderful Hermione looked, but Ron certainly did. The two of them offered their arms to the girls and arm in arm the two couples joined they others making their way out to the Great Hall and to the carriages waiting outside.  
Harry opened the door of the carriage and helped Renata inside. He and Renata sat together and Ron and Hermione sat together.  
Harry put his arm around Renata; she didn't object. "I suppose this will all still be good fun even though we didn't have to sneak out."  
"We could have said we weren't going and snuck out anyway," said Harry.  
"But then we wouldn't be sitting here."  
"Good point." Harry looked over at Ron. Ron seemed to be having a slight difficulty with forming sentences. Hermione's dress robes were less modest than things she usually wore. Her hair was done up superbly. She had certainly grown prettier over the last few years and she'd made an effort to prove that tonight. Was she maybe wearing a little make-up even?  
"H-Hermione, you look . . . you look . . ." Ron seemed at a loss for words. Harry kicked his shin to help him. "Ow! Harry, what'd you do that for? I was trying to tell Hermione something important!"  
"What were you trying to tell her?" asked Harry, a mischievous glint in his eye.  
"Only that I think she's the prettiest girl I've ever seen!" said Ron heatedly.  
"More gorgeous than Fleur de la Coeur?" asked Harry, knowing just what kind of response Ron would give and knowing that Fleur had been a sore spot with Hermione.  
"Of course! Any idiot who thinks otherwise has to answer to me!" His hand went to his wand and he glared at Harry.  
Harry smiled. "Don't tell me. Tell her." He nodded at Hermione.  
Hermione was by this time blushing quite a bit. "You mean it, Ron?"  
"Of course I do, Herms. I wouldn't say something I don't mean."  
"You always say stuff you don't mean." She was evidently thinking of the many times they'd gotten into fights.  
His ears turned pink. "Well, not this stuff. Fights are different."  
The carriage stopped and they got out. Walking the little way necessary to the Three Broomsticks. The party was just starting. The large pub had tables scattered around the edges with a band near the bar and a wide empty space cleared in the center. For dancing.  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata planted themselves at a table and the boys braved the crowded floor to bring back bottles of Butterbeer. Harry was surprised to find Seamus at the counter.  
"I thought you were home for the holidays."  
"I am. I just came back tonight for the dance. Floo powder. I'm here with Padma. She's looking for a table."  
"Do the two of you want to sit with us?"  
"Wouldn't that be kind of weird?" Obviously his coming with Padma was supposed to be a date.  
"Not at all. Ren and Herms are already at the table waiting for us to bring drinks back."  
"Alright then." Each of them clutching two bottles, they went back only to discover that Padma was already seated with Hermione and Renata.  
"You boys are slow. We should have gotten the drinks ourselves," said Renata, moving over so Harry could sit down next to her.  
"Be nice or I won't give you your drink." Harry held one bottle just out of her reach and somehow managed to open with the other one one-handed. He was just about to take a sip when Renata snatched it.  
"Thanks for opening this for me." She gave him her usual dazzling grin and took a big gulp.  
"But that was-Oh, never mind." He gave in. She always won.  
She blinked and smiled again, this time sweetly. "Thank you."  
He said a grudging, "You're welcome."  
"Slow song! Let's dance."  
"I don't want to dance . . ."  
She looked at him with big, sad, blue eyes. "Please?"  
He groaned. "Not that face. I can never say no that face."  
"I know." She smiled. "Please?"  
"Yeah, alright," he muttered. He stood up with one last look at Ron, Seamus, Hermione, and Padma and trudged off to the floor. Renata wanted center stage and dragged him to the middle of the floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she draped her arms around his neck. He'd never admit it, but he really loved dancing with her.  
Harry tried to go back to the table after the song ended and a quicker one started, but Renata wasn't having any of that. She just rocked out. She grabbed his wrist to make sure he couldn't leave. So Harry was forced to dance through three more songs before another slow song came. He put his arms around her waist again and caught sight of Ron dancing with Hermione and Seamus with Padma. Harry looked around and noticed that there weren't that many Hogwarts students present. No more than a few dozen; the rest of the people there were older witches and wizards (probably from Hogsmeade). Finally, after the slow song, Renata consented to being led back to the table, saying, "Well if you insist, I suppose you do look as though you need the rest."  
"How kind of you."  
She just laughed and he couldn't help but smile back. He kissed her cheek. "You know I love you."  
"I love you too, Harry."  
After another couple of songs and some talking, the others came back. They chatted, drinking their Butterbeer and eating peanuts. They got up and did a little more dancing several times. Harry and Renata excused themselves and walked outside a little for some fresh air. They just walked along happily holding hands in the moonlight. Walking up the street and back down to the Three Broomsticks.  
They were just about at the door when Harry said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."  
"Didn't tell me what?"  
"How pretty you look tonight. Beautiful. Stunning."  
"Oh, really?" She blushed a little.  
"Yeah. That color looks really good on you."  
"Thank you."  
"What ever possessed you to fall in love with an idiot like me?" he asked, laughing a little.  
"I may say you're an idiot once in a while." Harry snorted. "Okay, more than once in a while, but it doesn't mean you are. You've got your faults, but mind you, we've all got our faults. I'm sure you can name at least three of mine without pausing to think. I'm rather impetuous, as well as mean and a little cruel. But you're forgetting the good things. You're smart, handsome, brave, a fairytale prince in my eyes."  
"But you're not the traditional princess, are you?"  
"I'm not?"  
He grinned. "You need a good deal less rescuing. You've got more self- respect than to let men prance about and rescue you. If anyone tried, you'd probably get out first and lock them up. And you care about your appearance a great deal less. But that doesn't matter. I think you're always beautiful."  
"No, I'm not."  
"Yes, you are."  
"No."  
"Yes."  
"No, I'm not! Idiot. You're lying, trying to make me feel better. Which only makes me feel worse. You're an insensitive jerk, you-"  
Harry leaned in and kissed her. Her mouth was too occupied kissing him to continue ranting about his faults.  
When they stopped kissing, Renata whispered, "That was a dirty trick. I know I was mad at you and we were arguing but I can't remember what about!"  
He smiled. "It doesn't matter." He gave an elegant bow and offered his arm, real old-fashion like. "M'lady?"  
She took his arm. "Thank you, kind sir."  
They went back inside. After a few more slow songs spent with his arms around Renata, the dance had just about ended; it was to go on for another half an hour or hour but the Hogwarts students had to take the carriages back to school. Seamus and Padma (as well as the few other students that came back just for the dance) exited through the fireplace instead.  
Renata was tired and spent the whole ride back to Hogwarts snoring gently on Harry's shoulder. He didn't mind. He talked quietly with Ron. Hermione had fallen asleep as well.  
When the carriages stopped, Ron and Harry woke the girls. They walked up the castle and to Gryffindor tower, said goodnight at the stairs, and went to their dormitories. 


	28. A Pleasant Picnic

Harry stretched. iMaybe I'll do some reading/i/, he thought. iThat would be nice. I could take a walk. Go sit down by the lake. I could have a little peace and quiet before Renata found me/i/. He had no doubt that she iwouldi find him. She always did.  
He got out of bed and quietly dressed, picking up his book on the way out the door. It was a very worn copy of iThe Fellowship of the Ringi.  
He didn't bother to stop for breakfast. He just spread out his cloak on the ground outside, in the shade of a tree at the edge of the lake, and lay back and read peacefully. He ran his fingers along the bottom of the tree, searching. He found them. The letters R/H. They were carved several times along the bottom of the tree. Harry chuckled softly. He never did find out who had put them there.  
Time for that later. He opened his book and began to reread. It was a favorite story of his.  
He was just on chapter 3 when something large plopped down in front of him, falling (or jumping), out of the tree. Two other somethings joined from the sides.  
"Whatcha doin, hottie?" asked Renata in a much too loud voice as she snatched the book from his hands, the book she had given him.  
"Playing hide and seek. I lost. You found me."  
"I always do." She smiled smugly.  
"Can we eat yet?" grumbled Ron.  
"What?" asked Harry. Food sounded good right about now.  
"We brought a picnic lunch," explained Hermione.  
"But you can't have any, Harry!" taunted Renata. Her eyes danced playfully.  
"I didn't expect either of you girls to be awake this early. It's not even noon yet," he teased. "You couldn't even keep your eyes open in the carriage ride back to the school."  
"Shut-up," said Renata. "And get up. Spread your cloak out more so we can all sit on it."  
"Why didn't you bring your own?" he grumbled, doing as she asked anyway.  
"Because, I wanted to annoy you."  
"Of course. I should have known. So how did you find me today? More special powers?"  
"No. We just looked out the window." She handed him a sandwich.  
He took a bite. His favorite: turkey on rye, with mayonnaise. Delicious! "Did I say 'I love you' yet today? 'Cause I do."  
"No."  
"I love you." They leaned together and kissed.  
She grinned. "Ew! Mayonnaise breath!" She giggled.  
The four of them spent the afternoon eating, laughing, and talking.  
Renata pouted, "I want to go swimming."  
"It's too cold to swim," said Ron, eating yet another sandwich.  
"I want to go anyway," she insisted.  
"You'll freeze and get sick," Hermione warned.  
"No I won't. I'm indestructible." Renata held her head high.  
Harry grinned wickedly at Ron with an are-you-thinking-what-I'm- thinking expression on his face. Ron gave a slight nod toward Renata. Apparently they were thinking the same thing.  
While Renata talked to Hermione, Ron grabbed her wrists, and Harry grabbed her ankles.  
"What? What are you doing?" They started walking toward the water. "Harry James Potter! Ronald Weasley! Put me down this instant!"  
They obliged, but they were both knee-deep in the water. They ran for their lives. But they couldn't help turning back, just a few meters from the waters edge and watching.  
Renata sputtered to the surface. "I'm going to get you for this!" She tried to reach for her wand, but it was gone. She saw it floating away in the water. She had to trudge deeper in after it. She was thoroughly soaked and shivering when she came out of the water.  
Harry put his cloak around her. "Told you it was too cold to swim."  
She dropped the cloak he'd given her. "Humph!"  
"Renata!" he called. "You're going to get sick if you don't warm up!"  
"As if you care!"  
"Of course I care!"  
"Then why did you throw me in that freezing water?" She leered, inches from his nose.  
"Because you wanted to be there!" he screamed back.  
"You ought to know me well enough to know when I'm serious and when I'm not!"  
"You're ALWAYS serious in a NEVER serious kind of way!"  
She shoved him and he went staggering backwards. He glared. There was no way he was going to hit a girl. Especially not this girl. He took out his wand. He could however, hex her. Nothing with permanent damage, just enough to immobilize her for awhile. She was quicker. She dove at he knees and sent him to the ground.  
Then she took out her wand and started hexing.  
When she was done, he was hardly recognizable. She stormed away (after dumping the remains of lunch over his head). Hermione got to work un- hexing him. She got rid of everything but the pig's feet, dog tail, and purple slime that would not stop coming out of his nose. He was disgusted to see that Renata had left Ron unscathed.  
Eventually they found Renata and after numerous apologies from Harry, convinced her to remove the final curses.  
  
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Thanks for everybody who reviewed even though I've been terrible about updating. *whacks self with keyboard* Sorry this chapter is so short. I've been kind of at a writer's block (funny how often that keeps happening) and I had to write a stupid chapter, pointless to the plot, in order to help me get through it.  
  
If you like my fluffy, corny romances you might want to try a couple of my song fics (they've got dialogue and stuffies).  
  
This one is two Harry/Renata romances SAYING I LOVE YOU, SONGFICS  
  
And this one HERMIONE'S DEAR DIARY, SONGFIC is a Ron/Hermione.  
  
(Sorry I tried to put a link here but it didn't work) 


	29. The Artist

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter. I do own Renata. I own Riana too but Renata is just SO much cooler.  
  
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"Harry." Renata came and sat down on the arm of the chair. "We need to talk."  
"Oh no. Oh no. You are not breaking up with me again. Please say you aren't breaking up with me again. You can't do this to me. Not again!"  
"Shut your face so I can talk."  
His jaw snapped shut and glared at her.  
She gave him a kiss and when she pulled away, the evil glare had disappeared. "Alright then. I just wanted to say that I think you need to talk to Neville."  
"Why? What's wrong?"  
"Rianna broke up with him."  
"That's awful. Why?"  
"I don't know. But you need to make him feel better."  
"Why don't you talk to him? You're better at that sort of thing."  
"The last person he wants to talk to is another girl." She stood up, took his hands, and started pulling him toward the boys' dormitory stairs.  
"But I don't know what to say."  
She started pushing him up the stairs. "Then don't say anything. Just listen." With a final shove, she left and he continued.  
He knocked on the door, "Neville? Are you okay?"  
The reply was muffled.  
Harry opened the door and saw the Neville's face was buried in his pillow.  
"What do you want?" came Neville's muffled voice.  
"I was coming to see what the matter was. Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine. It's just that . . . Riana broke up with me."  
"Did she give any reasons?"  
"She said I was too adventurous."  
"What?" Neville too adventurous? That was crazy.  
"Well, she said that she didn't want someone who was so rash. She's heard about my fights with Malfoy. And she knows I'm your friend. She said that makes me susceptible to getting hurt or killed or getting her hurt or killed. I don't know. Things really working out between us anyway. She called me Nevvie. Ugh. I don't think there's anything worse than that." He grinned weakly.  
"So you're okay?"  
"Yeah. It was just the shock. We didn't have that much in common. She's terrible at Herbology. I think she was using me to help her with her grades if you want to know the truth. I'm not really that upset."  
He didn't look that upset anymore.  
"Besides, me, adventurous?" he laughed. "Yeah right. It was just her excuse, I could tell."  
"Well, if you're sure you're all right . . ."  
"Yeah. I'm fine. Can you hand me that notebook?"  
Harry picked a notebook off the floor that was just out of Neville's reach. It was open and he looked at it. There were pictures.  
"Hey! What are these?" He didn't hand Neville the book. He held it open and looked through it. Each page was filled with pictures.  
"My sketches. Could I have them back?"  
"These are really great, Neville. How come you never showed anybody these?" he continued to look through them. There was the view of the Hogwarts' grounds as seen from the top of the Astronomy Tower. Hagrid, before he had died last year. Nick's ghost. Ginny laughing. Ron and Hermione playing chess (Ron looking smug and Hermione slightly frustrated). The Weasley twins with their trademark mischievous grins. Peeves. The Bloody Baron. Ginny sitting in front of the fire. Harry playing Quiditch. Dumbledore, probably at one of the start-of-term feasts (the usual twinkle in his eye). Ginny sitting in a window. Malfoy tripping over his own feet. Dozens of thers. "These are phenomenal. I've never seen you draw before. When did you get these done?"  
"There are loads more. I've been doing them for years. Mostly at night. Sometimes I just can't sleep and since I've got nothing better to do I sneak down to the Common Room and just start drawing. I know everybody so well that it doesn't matter that they aren't down there. I can see them right here." He pointed to his head. "Clear as day."  
"These are great, Neville." He finally handed him the book. "You should show these off. Not keep them secret."  
He just shook his head. "Don't tell anybody, Harry."  
"I won't. Will you show me the pictures the next time you do more?"  
"Okay. You can have the picture of you if you want it. It's not very good. But I just wanted to draw something that captured the excitement of sports." He handed Harry the picture.  
Harry looked at it again and saw the look in his eyes. The picture had captured it well.  
Harry left Neville alone and went back down stairs. He bumped directly into Renata and they both went sprawling. "So? How is he? Is he okay? What did he say?"  
"He's fine."  
"If he said he's fine it means he's awful! You shouldn't have come back down."  
He helped her to her feet. "He didn't say he was fine. I could tell he was. He was happy."  
"Oh."  
"Come on." They sat together in one of the chairs and he read to her softly out of The Hobbit. He was very distracted during his reading because she was sitting there with her arms around him and her head on his shoulder. His hair was getting too long again and every so often she twirled a few strands of it around her fingers, giggling.  
"Knock it off, Ren," he chuckled, "That tickles."  
She stopped and put her hands back in her lap only to start twirling his hair again and the start of the next chapter.  
"Stop now, I mean it."  
"No you don't." She giggled.  
He wouldn't admit it, but she was right.  
"I'm glad you grew sideburns like this. They aren't as nice as that beard you had for a little while last year, but still . . ." She laughed again.  
He grinned and started reading again; ignoring the fact that she kept tickling him. Finally, the common room was nearly empty. Only they were left.  
He waited for her to tickle him again when he was reading. When she did, he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth for quite some time. Even daring to slide his tongue over her lip until she opened her mouth more to let him explore it. They finished kissing and heard a voice.  
"Ahem, are you two quite finished yet?" asked Neville coming down the stairs.  
"Yeah. Sorry, Neville."  
"Don't be sorry. I just came down here for a bit."  
"I guess I'd better be going." She stood up and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek (she didn't think it'd be a good idea to kiss him again on the mouth when she was trying to leave).  
"I'll see you tomorrow."  
When Renata was gone, Neville grinned. "I think I have a topic for my next picture."  
"You're not serious, are you?"  
"Maybe." He shrugged. "I'll show you tomorrow, either way. I'm not really tired, so I'll probably be up at least another couple of hours. Maybe I'll do another Ginny sketch instead. I saw her walking back from the library earlier."  
Harry left him with his pencils and notebook and went to bed. The curtains were pulled shut around Neville's bed and anyone who woke up in the night would have no reason to think Neville wasn't there.  
  
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If this isn't too horrible, would you continue reading it? 


	30. Heart to Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The only character I own in this chapter is Renata.

Sorry it's been  a while since I updated. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get where I know I'm going. This should work all right. If you like it or just want to comment, please review.

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            Harry sat down in the common room, very stressed. It had been an awfully long day; the worst part being that Snape was nicer than normal. It was just creepy. And now he couldn't sleep, so he was stuck sitting down here, staring at the dying fire.

            Neville came downstairs, "Hey, Harry. I've got the picture. You wanna see it?"

            "Sure, Neville."

            He showed Harry two pictures. One was Renata and Harry sitting close together by the fireplace, arms around one another fondly (but not kissing as Neville had threatened). The other was a picture of Ginny. She was holding an armload of books and looking thoughtful.

            "Does Ron know you fancy Ginny?" teased Harry. Several of Neville's pictures were of her.

            "I don't fancy, Ginny!" his face turned beet-red. "Maybe a little," he whispered. "But don't tell Ron!"

            Harry grinned. "Of course I won't."

            Neville sat down. "Are they any good?"

            "Yeah. They're both great. All your pictures are, Nev. Can I have this one?" He held up the one of him and Renata.

            Neville shrugged. "If you want it."

            "Thanks."

            It was a long time before either of them spoke. "Harry, when's it coming?"

            "What, Neville? When's _what_ coming?"

            "The last battle. We all know it's coming. Even the first years. Reports in the paper are getting worse. Tension is building. We all know it's only a matter of time. Only a matter of time. How long do we have?"

            "I don't know, Neville. I wouldn't be surprised if it was before the end of the year," he said quietly. "Some of us, namely me, might not be alive to graduate in June."

            "You don't mean that."

            Harry nodded. "I do."

            "I'll be there for you, Harry. I can't forgive him for what he's done to me. To my parents. To Gran and Uncle Algie. Bloody heck, I can't forgive him for what he's done to all of us. One of these days I _am_ going to pay him back with every last ounce of my strength."

            There was a dangerous glint in Neville's eyes and Harry knew that Neville meant every word he said. Never had Neville wanted anything so badly before.

            "I know, Nev. He's hurt too many of us. Too many of us. Me and you and Renata, especially. And our families.  I know everybody's thinking that the last battle will be a large-scale duel led by Dumbledore, but I don't think so. I think he's going to come quietly and attack with all his force at a single target. For you, and Renata, and Terry, and Cedric, and their families, and yours, I'm going to do what I have to when the time comes."

            "But you won't have to do it alone, Harry. I'll be there. You can count on it."

            Harry knew Neville meant it. Harry wasn't sure whether or not, if he even had a choice in the matter, he'd take Neville with him when the time came. Neville deserved a shot at Voldemort and the others as much as Harry did, but Harry knew it was his own fight and not Neville's. He shut his eyes. When Neville had spoken, he had a haunted look in his eyes. Harry mused, idiotically. Hunted. Haunted. Neville was haunted and Harry felt hunted. Harry sighed and opened his eyes, leaning back in the padded chair. "Neville?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Assuming that the battle comes, we win, we survive, and we graduate, what do you want to do?"

            "Do?"

            "For the rest of your life, I mean."

            "Oh. I don't know. I want to do something that really means something. I was thinking about opening a nursery."

            "A nursery? I didn't know you liked kids that much, Nev."

            "No, not that kind of nursery. A plant nursery."

            _That made much more sense_, thought Harry.

            "I want to grow stuff for St. Mungos. Find cures. Some things can only be cured if the plants that are used are given proper attention, very specific attention. I want to help people. I want to make a difference. Maybe I could help rewrite a medicine text even, I know I could draw the sketches for it accurately. And I've been told my writing has improved. What about you, Harry?"

            "I want a peaceful life. I used to think I wanted to be an Auror. Fight bad guys and all that. But you know what, Nev? I'm _sick_ of fighting bad guys. It's starting to make me physically sick. I'm done with it. Just _done_. I'm not brave or a hero or anything like people think, I do only what I have to. I have to get rid of Voldemort or die trying. When that's over, for better or for worse, I'm _done_. I'll settle down and live a calm life. Maybe get a teaching spot here. I could teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Heck, I'd take over for Hagrid and be the Gamekeeper. I just want a little peace and quiet." He sighed. "Do you know what else I want, Nev? More than anything? I want a family. My family is gone. Everybody but Sirius. You, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore, you're family to me. But I need more than that in my life. I want to settle down with a wife and kids and lead the normal boring life I thought I was going to lead before I found out about any of this. Before I found out about Voldemort. I just want to press the reset button on my whole life, but I guess we can't really do that, can we?"

            "No, we can't. I wish we could. Gran's great and all, but to have my mom and dad be there and to know them? Honestly, what would beat that?"

            "Nothing," agreed Harry.

            They sat in silence after that for almost half an hour. Knowing that they understood, really understood each other.

            Renata came downstairs, wrapped in a bathrobe over her pajamas. "What are you still doing up?"

            "Just talking. You?" asked Harry.

            "I was asleep, but I woke up and realized that you were still down here awake," she said, coming to sit down between them.

            Neville gave her a perplexed look.

            Harry explained, "Sometimes, she just knows these things without any rhyme or reason. She can track me down almost anywhere in the school, you know."

            She put her head on his shoulder. "Are you boys almost done talking? I won't be able to get a wink of sleep until I know you're upstairs snuggled safe and warm in your beds.'

            "Yeah, Ren. We're done for tonight."

            "Good. I'm exhausted." She yawned wide. And stretched. As she stood, Harry steadied her with his arm at her waist as he walked her to the stairs.

            "Goodnight." He hugged her and gave her a push up the stairs.

            Harry took the picture Neville gave him and rolled it up and Neville rolled up the picture of Ginny. "What are those?" asked Renata, turning back on the third step.

            "Just pictures."

            "I want to see. That one looks like me."

            "Go to sleep, Ren. I'll show you in the morning."

            "You'd better," she grumbled.

            Harry and Neville went upstairs finally and went to sleep.


	31. Preparation

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything it's affiliated with.

Sorry it's been so long since the update and sorry this chapter isn't very long. The next one will come soon. Please review if you don't hate me too much for not updating in so long?

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            The next Hogsmeade weekend was quickly approaching. Harry had a feeling deep in his gut. Something was going to happen. He knew it. But he didn't tell anyone. Not even Renata. She would discourage him from doing what he knew he had to.

            He wasn't exactly sure how or why, and no one else seemed to notice anything different or feel anything different, but it was his gut instinct, and he knew it was right. The final battle was fast approaching.

            He knew some time this week it would happen. He'd never been more certain of anything before. He knew that Voldemort wouldn't try anything at school. That left only one choice. Hogsmeade.

            Harry checked to be sure that the whistle Dumbledore had given him was still around his neck. It was. He was ready to face anything that happened this week, even though he knew in his heart that nothing would happen until Saturday. He had 6 days.

            He spent his free time in the library studying curses, counter-curses, shields, blocking, hexes, and anything else he could think of. When he wasn't studying these things, he was practicing them. He left most of his schoolwork that week undone. He knew that if he lost, it wouldn't matter whether or not he'd done his written assignments. What he was doing was more important; it was all that mattered.

            "Harry, you'll wear yourself out, get some rest," said Ron.

            "Harry, you haven't done any schoolwork in days," said Hermione.

            "Harry, you're keeping something a secret from me," said Renata.

            They were all right of course, but he ignored them. He had bigger fish to fry, so to speak.

            Saturday morning dawned and Harry was awake with the sun, watching it rise from the window of his room and knowing that he might not ever see it rise again.

            He took a deep breath. He knew today was it. The final _it_. He was as ready as he could be for whatever was coming.

            Knowing he might never return to this room, he went through his trunk and took out a few things dear to his heart, and a few he thought he might need.

            He chose a picture out of the album Hagrid had given him long ago. It was of he and his parents. He folded it up and put it in his pocket. He felt as though having them there would some how help him.

            He saw a pack of Dungbombs. He didn't know what use they might provide, but he stuffed them in his other pocket to be safe. Who knew what could come in handy?

            He saw a few other odds and ends and put them in his pockets as well.  He put his hand to his neck, as he'd done so often this week, and checked to see that the whistle was still there. It was.

            It was too early to go downstairs, so he wrote a letter.

_To whomever has found and  is reading this letter,_

_           I just wanted to say, that throughout the good and bad, the best seven years of my life have been here at Hogwarts. I'm sorry that it's over for me now and that I'll never see any of you again, but I'm not sorry for what I've done. I think I made the right choice today. I did what I had to do. I'm sorry I lost (well, if you're reading this, I probably lost and we're in for dark times). All the same there are some things I want to tell some people._

_           Find some way to tell these people these things for me—_

_           Renata: I love you and I never wanted to forget you or let you go. If I had survived today, I would have asked you to marry me. You mean the world to me._

_           Ron: You're the best friend a guy could have (even if you don't count all the times you saved my life) and I don't know how to say thank you enough. All the times we got in trouble and all the times we got away with stuff, you were always by my side. I don't have an official will, maybe this'll count, but everything I've got is going to you. Everything in my Gringotts vault, my _Firebolt_, my dad's old cloak, the Map, all of it to you, buddy. Hey, make sure you ask Hermione to marry you. You never want to lose a girl like her._

_           Hermione:  You've been an amazing friend and I can't even count how many times you had to pull my sorry butt out of the fire (whether it was grades, or keeping my from getting detention, or keeping me alive). You're the sister I never had and you were always there for me. Oh, and when Ron pops the question, say yes. You two are great together._

_           Albus Dumbledore: Friend? Teacher? Mentor? Headmaster? Guardian? You were all of that.  Hogwarts will be in trouble the day you are gone._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry James Potter_

            Harry tucked the note under his pillow just as Ron was stretching and waking up. "Hullo, Harry. Today ought to be good, right? Last Hogsmeade weekend of the year."

            Harry just grimaced.****


	32. Departing

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in the Harry Potter universe.

Okay, adding a last part to the letter from the last chapter.

_            Neville: You're brave. Never let any rotten Slytherins get you down. Never._

So, now here's the chapter. I'm sorry if this is getting kind of drawn out, I've got bits and pieces of the rest of the book already written and I'm working on how they fit together.

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            Harry walked through Hogsmeade with Renata on his arm. Hermione and Ron were walking on his other side. Harry felt the calling charm beginning to work. Calling charms were easy; he knew how to block one. Renata had taught him. He knew it was a trap. Voldemort must know he knew that. So, Voldemort must know that he knew it was a trap, then he must also know that Harry would come anyway. Harry could deal with that.

            "Hey, why don't the three of you head over to the Three Broomsticks. I'll be along in a few minutes." Harry tried to make his voice sound as casual as possible.

            "Where are you going?"

            "I just want to get something from one of the stores."

            "I'll come with you," said Renata.

            "It's a surprise from all of you." Quick thinking, Potter, he thought.

            "I don't like surprises. I'll come with you," she insisted.

            "No, no, I'll only be a few minutes. Go on, bye!"

            "Okay," she said hesitating.

            He gave her a kiss, one last kiss. "I love you, never forget that," he whispered. "Bye. Go on." He plastered a grin on his face. It felt so _forced_; it _was_ so forced. "I'll be right back." He took off in the direction the Calling pulled him, running as soon as he was out of their sight. He ran for five solid minutes before slowing. Now that he had a good head start, he decided to start slowing down and decide what to do. When he got to the edge of the village he could put on his father's cloak, he'd brought it. Then he'd let the Calling keep guiding him again, anything else, well he'd have to see what was waiting for him.

            He had just about reached the edge of the village when he heard heavy breathing and voices behind him.

            "POTTER!" someone screamed. "I told you he'd be here! I'm never wrong!"

            Harry knew that voice. He didn't turn around. He couldn't, he couldn't make himself do it. If he did, he'd never move on again. "I know where he is, Renata. I'm going after him."

            "Harry! Are you blind, deaf, and dumb? This is obviously a trap!" She spun him around gripped his shoulders frantically, trying to shake sense into him.           

            Harry forced her to release; he was oddly calm. "I know good and well it's a trap. I also know that what's going to happen today has to come sooner or later. I'm as ready now as I'll ever be. I'm going to walk into this trap."

            "Then we're coming with you," said Ron, fierce. He reached out and gripped one of Harry's hands.

            Hermione gripped Ron's other hand. "To the end. We'll always be here for you, Harry. Just like we always have been."

            Renata took Harry's other hand. "I'm ready to stand with you to the end."

            Neville stepped up to take Renata's other. "Me too, Harry. V-V-Voldemort must be stopped at all costs. I'm with the rest of you."

            "You're all sure?" Harry looked at them. Standing there were 4 of his companions. Which would survive? Who was the fifth?

            "Yes, Harry. We're coming and you can't stop us."

            "I can't?" He gave a sad smile. He could, he knew he could. But they'd follow and there was nothing he could do about that. If they followed, they'd be in even more danger than if they came with them. "If you come, you follow my rules." It wasn't a request; it was an order.

            "Harry, you can't go without us."

            "My rules," he repeated.

            They nodded, all but Renata. "Only as long as I think your rules are the right rules."

            "He knows I'm coming. I've got my cloak, but there's not point in me wearing it, is there? I want the four of you to put it on. You'll be a surprise."

            "Will we all fit?"

            "I hope," Harry said. But they'd only ever managed 3 before and that had been tight enough.

            "Are you sure you want to come?" he asked again. "It's not too late to turn back and I won't judge any of you if you do. Being here isn't your place. It's mine."

            "I'm with you, Harry. You know that. A brother to me you've always been. This is what brothers do. They are there for each other no matter what."

            "You said it, Ron. You're my best friend, Harry, and kind of like a brother to me. You can't keep me away."

            "Me neither, Harry. You keep saying I'm brave. I don't think so, but if anything, I'm going to prove it to myself today. I'm going to get back at the man who destroyed my family," vowed Neville.

            "Yes, I'm sure I want to stay," said Renata. "Wherever you go, I go. That's final. Not another word about it, Harry. Not another word. We're all coming."

            "Have it your way. Ron' can you let go of my hand a minute?"

            Ron didn't let go, he looked at Renata, "Is it safe to let go of his hand? Or will he run off?"

            "I think he'll stay. I've still go a good grip on him," she smiled. She always tried to lighten the mood.

            Harry reached into his robes and pulled out the whistle around his neck. He blew it but it emitted no sound. "Help's coming," he said simply. He stuck his hand into his robes again and pulled out the invisibility cloak.

            Renata grinned, "I _thought_ you'd put on a little weight, fatso."

            "Let go of me and I want the three of you to put this cloak on," Harry said.

            "I don't want to let go. I don't want you to go without me," she said.

            "I won't but I've got to lead the way. I'm being led by the Calling charm. As it is, it's kind of a strain standing here and not moving."

            "I know you know how to cancel a Calling charm," Hermione said.

            "Yeah, I taught you how," Renata added.

            "I know, but if I do, I won't find him. Anyway, I'll make this quick. I have to lead, and the three of you have got to follow. No arguments now. I already explained why you have to wear the cloak. I can't follow you if you're invisible so don't even think about it. Throw the cloak on and let's go."

            Neville didn't seem surprised at the cloak. Harry tried to remember if he'd ever told Neville about it. "Seven years, Harry, and I'm sure you deserved a lot more detentions than you got. I knew there had to be a reason."

            That explained. Renata gave his hand a final squeeze and whispered, "I love you, Harry," before slipping something in her mouth and disappearing.

            "Okay, how'd she do that?" asked Neville. "That one's got me stumped."

            "She must have brought that candy thing she has that makes her invisible."

            "Candy thing?"

            "Yeah," Renata's voice said from somewhere near Harry. "I found a recipe years ago and made it. As long as it's in my mouth, I'm invisible. I had a funny feeling today and I brought it in case I needed to follow Harry. 4 of us would never fit under the cloak, Harry."

            "I hadn't counted on their being quite so many when I brought it. I'd been planning on using it to escape from you. You 3 under, now. Renata, please stay back behind me, with them."

            "Of course I will, I can't lead, I don't know where we're going."

            Harry didn't believe her for a minute.

            Renata leaned forward and kissed Harry, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time. "Now we can go," she said simply.

            Ron and Neville (and Hermione in between) through the cloak around themselves, leaving just their heads exposed.

            "You're all the best friend a guy could have," Harry said. They pulled up the hood and vanished the rest of the way.

            "Are you ready?"

            A chorus chimed, "Yes. We're ready."

            "Then let's do this." Harry led the way as they started walking into the woods, his invisible companions behind him.

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Hope you like it. They are getting ever closer to the final battle, I'm not making any promises, but it'll probably be THE next chapter.


	33. The Start of the Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I know what's happening a couple chapters from now. You see, I know where I'm going, I just don't know how to get there. I haven't abandoned this fic (or anyone still reading!) I've just been on a total brain drain. I know where I'm going but the map is missing so, so please please forgive me!

It starts.

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CHAPTER 33: The Start of the Battle

            Harry wondered where Dumbledore was. The whistle was supposed to fetch him to his side, wasn't it? Oh well. It couldn't be helped.

            Harry and his tiny army marched on. They kept marching for the better part of an hour, unable to stop. They made a skeleton of a plan before going silent to conserve their energy; either they'd survive or they wouldn't.

            "Where are they?" whispered Neville, panting. It was hot under the cloak and they'd been going for an awfully long time now.

            Harry replied quietly, "He wants me to be tired. Not to have any energy left to fight with. I wish I'd brought my broom."

            Within ten minutes they saw them. Nearly 3 dozen figures, robed in black and wearing masks. One man stood center, with no mask, just blood red eyes, gazing at him.

            "Nice to see you again, Potter," he said, every inch the gracious host, but his voice tinged with venom.

            "I'm not afraid of you."

            Even as Harry spoke those five simple words, he saw the Death Eaters formed a circle around him as they'd done 3 years ago.

            The Dark Lord mocked, "Of course not. Why should you be? I just invited you over for a cup of tea."

            One of the Death Eaters twitched a wand at a sign from Voldemort and a cup of tea zoomed into Harry's hands. Harry sniffed it. It smelled like sage. He blinked in surprise as an identical cup appeared in Voldemort's hand. "Drink up." Voldemort drank.

            Harry smirked and poured the steaming cup of tea on the ground and tossed the cup at Voldemort's feet. "Sorry. I prefer coffee."

            Voldemort twitched his wand and said a spell that Harry was surprised he recognized. It was one for putting people in a cone of silence. What was going on? Harry wondered if Voldemort knew his friends were there. Harry had heard his friends moving a little bit when the Death Eaters had moved.

            Harry worked hard to keep his face calm. It wasn't as hard as he thought. He wasn't going to die yet. It wasn't going to happen. Voldemort liked to make a big show of things and trapping himself and Harry in a cone of silence would probably take some of the fun out of it for him.

            "So what do you want?" Harry asked amiably. His legs were killing him.

            "You could have joined me. You could have been great, you know. You have the ambition of a Slytherin, and a sharp mind. You could have been my second in command. But your Gryffindor heart had to make things difficult. Are you willing to reconsider? You're outnumbered."

            "No. Not really. The fact that you've gone to so much trouble to get rid of me and to get me on your side plainly tells me one thing. It means that _you_ are afraid of _me_. Otherwise I wouldn't be such an issue, now would I?" He could see Voldemort's pale face starting to go red. Harry kept talking, knowing that he had to. He shrugged. "Yes, I'm quite controversial, aren't I? Don't bother answering. I already know the answer. I'm more powerful than you are. That's obvious, isn't it? Don't bother answering. That was a rhetorical question. What? You don't know what rhetorical means? Tsk, tsk. You really should have paid more attention in school. Did you learn _anything_ from Professor Dumbledore? Yeah, he's a swell guy, isn't he?" Harry was thinking, _Yeah, a swell guy who said he was going to be here! Where is he?_ "Yeah. Hogwarts has been good to me for the last 7 years. Better than that mess of a family I was left with. But you know all about that, right? After all, you are the cause of my being an orphan. And your little rat, wherever he's hiding, he's the reason my godfather was delayed his reunion with me. And of course you know all about being an orphan don't you?" Harry recalled his memories from second year as best he could. "Yeah, you're a half-blood too. Do all your buddies here know that? I bet they don't. After all, you're the big-shot promoting pureblooded wizards. That would just make everything collapse around your ears if they found out. Ooh, you'd better hope I don't slip up and say something on accident. Your mother, she was a pureblood. The last witch in the line of Slytherin. Oh wait, my mistake _you're_ the last witch." Harry grinned cheekily before continuing hastily, making sure his friends had enough time, if Voldemort said _anything_ now, all their work would be ruined. "So I was thinking to myself why oh why would the man who _claims_ to be the greatest wizard of all time, be begging for my help? He wouldn't. Unless he knew he couldn't beat me. Unless he knew that I was stronger than he was. Unless he knew that I was going to destroy him one day. I've got news for you old buddy. You can't beat me. I am stronger than you. And _today_ is going to be the day I destroy you." Harry had never been very religious, but he prayed to whatever God, gods, or goddesses were out there for all the protection he could get. He knew he'd need it, and so would his friends.

            Voldemort tried to scream and found himself muted. No sound came out. He lunged at Harry and found he couldn't pick his feet up off the ground. 

            _Nice job, Ron, Herms_, Harry congratulated his friend silently. _Renata, _please _wait for your opening! _He started talking again before Voldemort could further react. "Yes, that's a neat trick isn't it? I rather thought so. And the best part is. Nobody out there knows what's happening. Rather ingenious of me, isn't it? I can multi-task. While talking to you I also managed to remove your voice, remove your ability to move, and by gosh I put up a barrier. All your buddies out there have no idea what's going on. They can't see us. They think _you_ did this. All they see is the swirling mist around us. I don't know exactly what this mist would actually do to us of course. I'm not worried. I don't care if I die. After all, we'll all do it someday. Even you. Today may or may not be my day, but I happen to know for a certain fact that today is yours. You don't think I can do it, do you? You don't think I can just snap my fingers, say those two words, and make you dead. Well, you're right. I _can't_. Even after all the bloody stuff you've put me through I don't have that raw hate. But I do know how to send you into outer space without your wand. How would you like that? No oxygen. Dead as soon as you tried to breathe. Or I could lock you up inside a glacier for all eternity. How does that sound? Don't worry, I'll leave you a blanket. Maybe I could toss you in a volcano and see what happens, hmm? That'd be interesting. I could always tie you up on top of the astronomy tower and have hippogriffs come and peck out your eyes and your organs. Tempting, no?" Harry watched the livid look on Voldemort's face. _NOW, RENATA!_ he thought for all he was worth and kept talking. "Yes, isn't it just delightful, old chap?" He did his best to grin broadly, he hoped it passed. "See, the thing is, you are now powerless to stop me. You have no wand, no voice, and no ability to move from where you stand. After weeks of painstaking research I have found a spell to switch my body with yours. I'll do it and order them to kill you. Then, I'll get each and every one of them, before returning to my normal bright and happy self, with my revenge complete. You had to know this is really what I've wanted all these years? Not to get my parents back. They're parents, what use are they? What I wanted was _revenge_. You may have been right when you said I'd do well in Slytherin, but I'm nobody's puppy. I don't follow you or anybody else. Not you. Not Dumbledore. Heck, my friends don't know I'm here. I'm only in this for one person. _Me_."

            When Harry had said "Yes, isn't it just delightful, old chap?" Renata had taken her cue and murmured, "_Accio _wand!" By this point, Voldemort was so distracted that he wasn't aware of what had happened until Harry got to his closing lines. Then he fumed with rage.

            Harry willed with all his might for his friends to keep the force field around them strong. The five of them might be able to stand up against a wand-less Voldemort who couldn't move closer to them and was just out of strangling distance. But there'd be no way for the 5 of them to stand up against all those Death Eaters. If the force field were shattered, they would be too.

            Just then, the earth under their feet started to heave.

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Thanks. I hope you review and keep reading! Sorry Harry rants for so long, it's integral to the plot.


	34. No One Left

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

This chapter isn't very long (just over a thousand words and I've started making that my minimum requirement). Sorry I didn't get it up earlier this week. This chapter is more depressing than I thought it was going to be. Won't say anymore right now.

**Gryffindors-Light**—Yeah, but he had to serve as a distraction. Hehe. Didn't mean him to be quite that girlish. :-)

**BotherBother69**—Thanks, updated.

**Oxi-Nu**—Thanks.

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 CHAPTER 34: No One Left

            Harry fell to his knees and decided it was best to stay there until the shifting stopped. He glanced up and saw Voldemort with a smug look of triumph on his face. Wandless magic. It was usually rather uncontrolled as this appeared to be, but this was definitely large scale. Harry took an assessment of the situation. Voldemort was still rooted to the spot and still mute. The shield had by some miracle held up, but if that display was as violet outside the shield as within, as Harry rather suspected it was, then by now they'd know something was wrong.

            Finally the wall came down. Harry didn't know why. Maybe the Death Eaters had managed to destroy it, maybe his friends had given up. At this point what did it matter? The ground still shook.

            At last it stopped. Harry saw Death Eaters climbing back to their feet from where they had fallen; the quake that Voldemort had unleashed had struck outside as well as inside the wall.

            Harry knew it would jeopardize them all if he were to start cursing the Death Eaters, he held his wand tight and hoped his friends would pick up the line of what they needed to do.

            One by one, Death Eaters started to fall as Harry heard muttered, "_Stupifies_!" around him.

            Not all of them fell, they realized what was happening and the rest of them starting blocking and dodging the curses. One even threw a curse back, but it missed Harry. Two-thirds of them were still standing when Harry whispered to his friends out of the corner of his mouth, "Stop."

            One of the Death Eaters realized there was something wrong with his master and got about fixing him. Invisible, Renata snapped Voldemort's wand in half (she was still holding it). Now, even if they somehow got it back, it would be useless. She snapped it to quarters, but that was as much noise as she dared make.

            No one moved toward Harry.

            When Voldemort regained his voice, he whispered, "He's here."

            "Who's here, master?" asked the Death Eater. Harry recognized his voice.

            "The Old One," Voldemort spat.

            "You mean, A—"

            "Don't say his name, you fool!" Voldemort slapped him and the man crumpled to the ground, whimpering at his feet.

            Voldemort looked at the man with utmost contempt and disgust. "Get up. You always were a weakling. Find my wand."

            The man stood and left, appearing as though he wished he could simply crawl through the dirt and escape unnoticed.

            Harry heard the crunching of shoes and dragging of feet and quickly tried to cover the noise. "You know, Tom, I was thinking, it's about time you told everyone your secret." He said this loudly, especially the last word.

            The Death Eaters started to mutter. Why had he called the Dark Lord "Tom"? What secret was their master hiding? He was a man of many secrets and they'd always accepted that. He was there leader and not only did they respect him, but above all else, they feared him above all else.

            "You mean you _haven't_ told them your secret?" Harry asked in mock surprise, terrified but trying his best not to let it show. "I can understand _why_ you haven't told them. As far as you're concerned it's the most shameful secret you can imagine, isn't it?"

            "Somebody silence him!" shrieked Voldemort.

            A Death Eater shot a spell at Harry, but whatever it was stopped before it hit him. Harry knew that one of his friends had taken the shot for him. He wondered who. "After all, it's everything you stand against isn't it?"

            "I said silence him!"

            Again, someone else (maybe the same someone?) took the hit for Harry. He was shaking now, but tried to pretend it was from anger and not fear. "Tom Marvolo Riddle, I accuse you of the same crime for which you have punished countless others. The same crime that you hold as most offensive. The same crime for which you have killed innocent people. I accuse you, and rightfully so, of not being a Pureblood!"

            There was a collective gasp. Some very, very, few of them had known his birth name was Tom, but none had known his ultimate secret.

            "Nooooooo!" he shrieked. He lunged at Harry and tripped.

            Harry wouldn't discover until much later that it was a body that Voldemort had tripped over.

            Harry whispered quietly the words of the spell, "_Petrificus totalus_." Such a simple spell, Harry had learned it in his first year and it still served well. He almost smiled smugly, but hoped not to give away yet what he'd done if possible. Voldemort's body went rigid and Harry hoped no one noticed. Harry looked up defiantly at the Death Eaters. "This man, the one you call "master" and "Dark Lord", the one you take orders from, the one whose feet you grovel at, the one whose robes you kiss, the one who you'd give your lives for before your own families, this man is a half-blood! His father was a Muggle. Not even a Muggle-born wizard or a squib, but a plain and ordinary _Muggle_."

            "Lies!" called one Death Eater, not wanting to believe his ears. The boy was mad. He should be punished. He _would_ be punished!

            "Blasphemy!" called another.

            The circle started to advance on Harry and he knew he was finished. His friends had taken the hits for him and now it was his turn. He knew that there was no one left to die for him. His parents were long dead on his behalf. His friends were gone. He'd begged him not to come and now they were _gone_ for good. And perhaps worst of all, Dumbledore, his mentor, his Headmaster, his parents' friend, had deserted him when he needed him most.

            Harry knew he was now alone.

            He had no one left.

            He let 1 tear slide down his cheek and stood up straight and tall. He would not go without a fight.

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**Told you it was depressing! I'll try and update soon.**


	35. The Race

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Sorry it's been so long since I updated. Now I know what's happening, where I'm going, _and_ how I get there. Very exciting. 

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CHAPTER 35: The Race

            Harry stood tall, holding his ground. This was it. He wouldn't go down without a fight. He knew now that he didn't have much time left and hardly a chance left, but he wouldn't go without a fight! "_Impediemente_!" he bellowed and repeated several times over in different directions. He knew it wasn't going to do any good. He wasn't going to be able to get to them all in time. He needed something stronger, something fast, something that could race and get them all…he needed a happy thought. A happy thought, where was he supposed to find a happy thought in the middle of all of this? Renata, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were all somewhere out of sight, possibly injured or dead. Dumbledore had deserted him and not come. His own headmaster had deserted him and his best friends were probably dead already because they'd insisted on following him! Where was a happy thought?

            Where were his happy thoughts?

            _Concentrate, Harry_, he admonished himself. _Your life depends on finding a happy thought. Come on, Harry! Just one happy thought!_ Happy thoughts, he'd never had many of those. What was the happiest thought he could think of? Renata. Renata was a happy thought. Thinking about Renata kissing him and saying she loved him. That was happy. But what if Renata was dead? What if she was hurt and lying in pain? He couldn't concentrate on that thought now. It wasn't going to get happier. What was happy? A normal life. The normal life he wanted. He wanted to survive this year. To get married. Have children. Grow old and die of old age after watching his grandchildren grow up! There was no time left; his enemies were drawing closer. Ever closer. He clutched his thought with the whole of his mind. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!_"

            It worked. The stag erupted from his wand and ran in a circle charging at his enemies forcing them back. Forcing the circle to get wider and sometimes taking down an enemy completely. The stag raced. A gorgeous silvery-blue creature almost flying among the dark shadowy figures of the Death Eaters.

            Harry saw a couple of the Death Eaters falling, and not because of the patronus. However the Death Eaters shot back at whatever was hurting them and eventually the shooting from outside the ring of Death Eaters stopped.

            Eventually all the Death Eaters were down for the count.

            Harry looked around at the fallen enemies. Had he won?

            He had done it! They were all gone. But it looked as though it had cost him his best friends. A hollow victory it was.

            He felt someone grab his ankle and he came down with a crash. His wand fell from his fingers and he lie on the ground, breathing heavily.

            A cold hand snatched the wand and suddenly, Voldemort was standing over him, the wand pointed at his throat. "Say goodbye, Potter."

            Harry knew that this time it was really over. He saw a bumblebee flying over him. A little thing, buzzing. He'd die now and the only one would know what had happened would be that stupid little bumblebee! What a way to go.

            Voldemort laughed coldly. "I've just got two words for you, boy. Two sweet, sweet words that I've been _dying_ to say to you." He laughed again. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

            Harry saw the green light. He saw the bumblebee flying over him.

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Thanks. I hope you review and keep reading! I'll post the next chapter soon. Sorry to leave you with such a cliffhanger.


	36. The Bee

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

This story still has several chapters left. Here's the latest.

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**CHAPTER 36: The Bee**

            The bee fell down dead on Harry's chest. He flicked it off of him. He watched the bee's body grow and lengthen and morph until it was no longer a bee, but instead a man with silvery hair and a beard long enough to tuck into his belt, a man who was wearing half moon spectacles and yellow and black striped robes. He knew this man. Dumbledore had come for him after all. Now he was lying motionless on the ground next to him.

            Voldemort stood and laughed.

            Harry's fingers wormed their way to where Dumbledore's limp hand still held his wand. Harry slipped it inside his sleeve.

            Voldemort took no notice.

            "Harry, you face certain death. Any last requests?"

            "Why do you want to kill me?"

            Voldemort laughed, a cruel, unpleasant sound. He actually seemed amused. "I am about to end your pathetic life and you want to know why. You don't even want to beg mercy?" He almost sounded disappointed. Almost.

            "No. I don't beg. Not unless it's really important. Like for my friends to forgive me. You? You aren't important enough to beg to. I just want answers."

            "I want to kill you for all the trouble you've caused me."

            "Funny, I'd say the same to you. You made me an orphan; it's your fault I got stuck with the Dursleys for the last sixteen years, and why I never knew my parents. You kill innocent people and I feel guilty when I can't stop it. You've hurt my friends. Did I leave anything out?" He spared a glance of his shoulder at the limp body of his mentor and friend.

            "No.  Is that all? Can we get on with this? I don't like people who stall and you've stalled long enough. From the looks of things, who knows how long some of them will be out." He meant the Death Eaters that had been trampled by Harry's Patronus.

            Harry thought he knew what to do, but he needed more time to be sure. He turned Dumbledore's wand around within his sleeve. "Okay, okay. But why did you try and kill me in the first place? Why did you kill my parents? Was it because of that prophecy? The Prophecy of the Boy who—"

            "They never told you?" He was silent. When he spoke again his voice was crueler and more taunting. "They never told you what your parents were going to do to me or why I was after them? And after you, you stupid brat child. Never? This day is monumental. The few reference books with information on the Book say that the Book of Ever burst into existence long ago, what people don't know is the truth. The truth is that it was written by the greatest Diviner of all time. This Diviner wrote down all known history, and all of his premonitions of things to come. The first witches and wizards that found it hid it from the Muggles and agreed never again to read from the book or allow others to read it after. The Book tells everything that will ever happen. Or so it's rumored. It tells the outcome of every war in history, every man who will die in it or out of it, how your friends will die…everything. This is a book for all time. I needed know what would happen. But the book wasn't always clear. Sometimes it spoke in riddles. I went to the Book, I took it and looked for pages concerning my glory. It said this:

**_            "Following the line of Salazar Slytherin shall be:_**

**_            Riddle the Young,_**

**_            Voldemort the Conqueror,_**

**_            Dark Lord the Destroyed._**

**_            Born again and set against his Old Foe._**

**_            Who will be the Victor?_**

**_            None shall as yet know._**

**_            But soon as time is right,_**

**_            Things will never be the same,_**

**_            After that fatefully fatal night."_**

Voldemort took several steps closer to Harry, starting at him with cold eyes; close enough until he could feel his breath on him. Harry was confused this wasn't the Prophecy Hermoine had shared with him. There was nothing in here about 5 companions or Lion's Warrior or People's Protector. This was different. "I'll never forget those words as long as I live. Then it went on to talk about some boy. It's said who his parents would be, major events in his life, even who he married, but it said at the end:

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**_            "All this as yet may be_**

**_            Unless before his second All Hollow's Eve_**

**_            Destroyed is he._**

**_            The world's fate is in the infant's hand._**

**_            Is he to be nothing more than a child deceased?_**

**_            Or will he strong and powerful stand?_**

"You are that boy, Harry Potter. That infant. All that was said has come to pass. And now, it's your turn to die."

            "What does the Book say after that?" Harry bit his lip. Wait a minute, he hadn't been killed before his second birthday, so that meant…

            "Nothing. It ends there. This is the deciding battle. Are you ready for it?"

            "Yes." And with that one word he began the fight. "_Stupefy_!" Harry's attack caught Voldemort off-guard. The man had never expected Harry to make the first move. He was wrong. As it turns out, he was dead wrong.

            Harry had been too quick for Voldemort and had hit him with the Stunner before he'd had the chance to react. Harry had put his full force behind the attack, everything he could muster. Harry knew that there would be no Dumbledore appearing to save him now, as there had been in his first year. No parents to die for him as an infant. No Hagrid to die for him like 6th year. There was only himself. So Harry spent all of himself, throwing all his power and energy into that curse, rising to stand as he did so and holding Dumbledore's wand in his hand.

            All his energy spent, he collapsed and darkness engulfed him. He knew no more than that he heard himself whisper, "That was for everyone you hurt." Maybe he didn't even whisper it. Maybe he only thought it. It didn't matter, because either way, that was his last thought.

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Thanks. I hope you review and keep reading (this story is far from over!) I had an idea for how the rest of it would, go then a plot bunny crept into my head and I've been typing like crazy!****


	37. Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. You know that. I know that. Harry doesn't know that. Ssh! Don't tell him, he thinks he's mine and that's the way I like it! hehe.

Wow, did I leave you with a scary enough ending last time? Good. This one shouldn't be so much the cliff hanger, I've actually finally managed to get a little ahead of myself with this fic so review and I'll try and post it up sooner. (Though I'm going away on a school/church retreat and won't have access to a computer Monday, Tuesday, or possibly Wednesday) But the next chapter is just about finished.

I hope you like this. Originally, this story was going to be going in a whole other direction after the end of the last chapter you read, but I was attacked by plot bunnies and one of my other stories inspired me to write this instead. I'll put the inspiration piece at the end so as not to give anything away.

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 CHAPTER 37: Part I: The Awakening

            Harry drifted around the rims of consciousness for he didn't know how long. All he knew was that he was sore all over and that he didn't have the energy to open his eyes. He barely had the energy to breathe. Consciousness drifted away again for a time. He had dreams. Dreams of his parents, of his friends, of green grass and blue skies, of blue grass and green skies. He dreamed of Renata. He dreamed of Hedwig bringing him letters from Sirius. He dreamed that he got a letter from the Ministry saying that the Dursleys had disappeared (_but really they'd been turned into toads_, the back of he's mind in the dream giggled and knew) and that he would be living with Sirius.  He dreamed that Ron and Hermione got married, then he saw images of them aging until they were old and practically rotting with age and bickering while bushy-haired redheads (their grandchildren of course) ran around them. He remembered none of these dreams when he woke.

            Harry found himself drifting on the edge of consciousness again (the dreams unremembered) and he found he still ached, though not quite so badly as before. He heard sounds, but his mind was too weary to make sense of the noise and his eyes too weary and weak to bother opening. His breathing wasn't a struggle anymore, but it required all the energy he could muster to deepen one breath to try and take in the smells of where he was. He smelled starch and cleanness, tonics, and the very faint smell of flowers. Lilies, were they? He didn't have the energy for another smell.

            He went to sleep. Real sleep this time, not just unconsciousness.

            When he awoke again, he slowly, very slowly, opened his eyes. He was so much less sore now; most of the general aching was gone. He stared up at the ceiling for some time, uncomprehending. Thoughts started to form, simple and unconnected thoughts. I'm lying on my back. It's very comfortable. I think I smell flowers. I'm awfully thirsty. "Excuse me?" he asked, his voice hoarse and barely a whisper. He suddenly became aware that somebody had been holding his hand. He couldn't quite see them. After all, he was still staring at the ceiling, which was very blurry.

            "Did you say something?" asked a voice.

            Funny, that voice was soft and kind and worried. Why would anybody be worried? The world was exceedingly comfortable right now. He just wanted to snuggle back deeper under the covers into the softness of the bed and stay there forever.

            "No, of course you didn't. You haven't spoken for days. You've hardly moved for days. They say you might never speak again. But they thought you wouldn't regain consciousness or be able to move. Your eyes are open, I know you're conscious. I know somewhere deep inside you can hear me. I know it. You have too." The owner of the voice began to cry.

            He gave a slow blink. Why would the person with the voice cry? The world was comfortable, wasn't it? Maybe the person with the voice didn't think it was. Maybe he should ask if she needed help. "Excuse me?" he repeated.

            "You did say something, didn't you?"

            He felt his hand being squeezed tighter. "Yes. That hurts. Would you mind letting go?"

            "No, I'm not letting go of you again, you hear? Never. I can't lose you again like this. If you have to stay in this bed the rest of your life I should not leave though you grow old and bald and smelly and live to be 600!" The voice was very empathetic.

            "Whoever you are, I can't really see you, you know. It's all blurry." His thoughts were becoming more connected now. He knew there was something that would help him see better. Something for…his eyes! That's it. A second pair of eyes.

            "Here, your glasses." The voice (which he had by this time recognized as a person) came back and put his glasses onto his face and the whole world just seemed to click into focus. The visual world did anyway, but his mind was still a bit fuzzy.

            "Thank you."

            "Your welcome."

            He watched, curious. The person looked very anxious. "What are you worried about?"

            "You."

            "You're pretty. You shouldn't worry. I'm fine."

            "No you're not. You're not fine. You the way I know you wouldn't act like this!"

            "Like what?" He was very confused now.

            "How you are right now! You're…you the way you usually are…not like this…" A complete though seemed quite unable to come.

            "You don't sound well. You should lie down and rest. That makes everything better."

            "Rest? Rest? Rest!?"

            Another person, a woman who looked vaguely familiar, appeared. "I think you'd better leave him be."

            "No, I already told you. I'm not leaving him and you can't make me."

            "Really, I warned you. After all he's been through, that night was just too much for him. Just too much. Whatever happened…" She sighed. The woman looked very sad too.

            "Why is everybody so upset?" he asked.

            "It's nothing, dear boy." The woman sat down on the opposite side of the bed from the other one who was there. She stroked his hair. "He might not get any better than this." She was looking the other person and talking as though he were not even in the room. Wherever the room was.

            He was starting to get annoyed. The world wasn't so comfortable after all. No wonder these two were so sad. "Don't be sad. And don't talk like I'm not here. It's not nice. Very impolite. I forgot. I'm thirsty. Could I have something to drink? Please?"

            "Of course, sweet." She got up and looked over her shoulder, "You and I will have to talk. He may have to stay here for life, but I don't know that we can let you do the same." She scurried off.

            He struggled and managed to sit up and found he could manage. He inhaled and knew he smelled flowers again. He looked around. Aha! There, that vase definitely had flowers in it. "What sort are those?"

            "What sort of what are what?" the first voice, he knew she was a she too, asked.

            "Those. What sort of flowers?"

            "Lilies. Your friends brought them."

            "I've got friends?" he asked, surprised.

            "Yes. You've known them for seven years now. They care about you very, very much and so do I."

            "I never had friends before. I'll be your friend though if you stop squeezing my hand so hard. It really, really hurts, you see."

            "Oh. I'm sorry." She let go of his hand but moved and sat facing him on the edge of the bed.

            "What's your name?" he asked, curiously. She's pretty. "I know I've seen you before somewhere. I'm just trying to remember where."

            "You don't remember," she said dully. "You don't remember anything? Anything at all?"

            "I just said you look familiar but your name escapes me. Does that count as remembering? That nice lady who's supposed to bring me water looked familiar too."

            "What do you remember? What do you really remember?" she asked, more anxious than ever.

            "Not much," he admitted.

            "What's your name?"

            He had just opened his mouth when the nice lady came back with a tall glass of water. The lady held him upright while the girl helped him sip the water.

            "Thank you very much," he said politely. "What happened to me?"

            The pretty girl said, "Well, there was a fight."

            "Did I get beat up? I think people beat me up a lot." He furrowed his brow in thought. Things were just beyond the reach of his mind right now. Maybe if she answered questions for him, he could remember.

            "Well...we're not sure."

            "You weren't there."

            "I wasn't really conscious when whatever happened to you happened."

            "Oh."

            "When you were found, they thought you were dead. Then they realized you weren't dead, but they thought you might never wake up. Now you're awake but they don't think you'll ever be the same."

            "What was I like before?"

            "You were brave. Very friendly. Kind. Smart. You knew how to think on your feet. You could do anything. But you were sad sometimes. You had lots of good reasons to be sad, but sometimes you were lonely. You had nightmares and there were bad men who chased you."

            "Oh. I think I'm going to take a nap now. Will you hold my hand again? I felt safe when you did before."

            She took his hand and watched as he fell asleep. When he was truly asleep, she cried again as she had cried for the past two weeks, sitting here, leaving only for a few minutes at a time. He didn't remember. He didn't remember. He didn't remember her. He didn't remember anybody else. Maybe this was what he _wanted_. Maybe _he_ didn't _want_ to remember. If she were him, she knew she wouldn't. If she'd been through all the pain in her life that he'd been through, she'd want to forget. She hadn't been through as much as him, but she could remember crying herself to sleep on nights when all she wanted to do was forget. Forget everything. Holding his hand and crying still, she fell asleep, tortured by dreams and wonderings of what had happened to him after she lost consciousness that night, and tortured too by the fact that people in the streets were celebrating and she had no room in her heart for celebrations.

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            He woke again; curiously enough his glasses were still on. That was good. He didn't think he'd be able to see them if he had to look for them. He looked at the pretty girl. She was in a chair, but still holding his hand most of her upper half was leaning across and over him.

            "I'm hungry," he announced. The girl, snoring softly, didn't hear him. "That's okay," he whispered to her. "I can get something myself." Very carefully, he slipped out of the bed. He was wearing pajamas. He had only taken two steps when the familiar lady with the water from before came and found him.

            "You're awake," she said.

            "Ssh!" he put a finger to his lips and shushed the lady. She was going to wake up the girl. He didn't want to wake her up. She was so beautiful lying there. She looked like a princess. Everyone knew you weren't supposed to wake up princesses. They slept in towers in big castles got hundreds of years (sometimes) until prince charming came for them.

            "Young man, you'd better go back to bed." The lady looked at him in a mock-stern way. Very motherly actually. Mothers were never as fierce as they pretended to be.

            "Whisper," he said, pointing a finger at the sleeping girl. "You'll wake the princess."

            "Has she been telling stories?"

            "No. But she's so pretty. I think she must be from a fairytale."

            The lady ushered him back into bed and she was thinking, _This poor boy. This poor, poor boy. How shall I break the news to the others? The world doesn't care, the idiots are celebrating; but to a few of us, he is the world_.

            He climbed under the covers very carefully and managed to squirm and gently move the girl a little until they were exactly as before and so she was still holding his hand. "Could I have some breakfast?" he whispered to the lady.

            "A healthy appetite. That's a very good sign. What would you like?"

            "Sausage. Eggs. Toast. Bacon. Marmalade. Orange juice. I think that's everything."

            "I'll be back soon."

            He tried to remember. It seemed very important that he remember. The princess-girl wanted him to. He didn't want her to cry and she looked very sad when he said he didn't remember her. Maybe he was her prince? No. He wasn't a prince. He knew that much at least. He thought and thought. Maybe he _was_. He remembered a castle. There'd been lots of people there. Lots and lots of people. He could see it in his mind, but all the faces looked very blurry (even with his glasses on!) and he didn't know who they were.

            "I still can't remember," he said quietly and sadly, when the nice lady returned with his breakfast. He'd really wanted to, too.

            "That's alright, dear. Nobody really excepts you to remember after all you went through."

            "What did I go through?"

            "To tell it all would take a lifetime, and I don't have all the facts."

            "Oh."

            "How old am I?"

            "Almost 18. You'll be 18 in a few months."

            "Really?" He was surprised. He hadn't expected to be that old. Darn it, yesterday he thought he almost remembered his name and now he didn't. He wondered if he was dead. He remembered hearing once that being dead was confusing, so maybe he was dead. He was very confused. "Am I dead?"

            "Yes, really, and no you're not dead."

            She stayed there while he ate his breakfast. "Could I have a puzzle?"

            "A puzzle?"

            "A jigsaw puzzle."

            "Of course." She blinked in confusion and to keep the tears away. She scurried off to find the boy a puzzle. Maybe he thought he was five years old or something. Oh dear. She returned with the puzzle. "Here you go, darling."

            "Thank you." There was a special table that could be pulled out so it came over the bed, and he used that to work the puzzle on. When the pretty girl woke up, she helped him.

            He heard arguing. "Somebody's yelling," he whispered.

            She could see that he was afraid. "It's okay," she said softly to him over and over again.

            "No, it's not," he whimpered.

            She put her arms around him so that he would have the same safe feeling that he had when she held his hand.

            He was crying, but he listened to the arguing. When grownups argued, you heard things they didn't want you to know.

            "Just let me in to see him!" a man said.

            "You don't want to see him. It'll break your heart," the voice of the lady replied.

            "I don't care. My heart's been shattered to bits as it is. It can't end up in worse condition."

            "You haven't seen him," she whispered.

            "What do you mean I haven't seen him? I've checked on him everyday. 5 times a day!"

            "You haven't seen him since he woke up."

            "What? Did he grow an extra arm or something?" the man asked sarcastically.

            "No."

            "What then?"

            "Just believe me when I say this. If you speak to him, you're going to cry."

            "Nothing has ever made me, Si—"

            Another woman's voice broke in, "Just let us see him."

            Another man's voice too, "Please. Please, we just want to see him. We need to know that he's okay. We just need to know."

            The lady gulped. "He's not okay and he's not going to be okay. He's happy, but he's not the boy you know."

            "Then we'll get to know him all over again. Let us in."

            Another sigh. "Don't say I didn't warn you." She bustled ahead of the others and reached his bed first, "Honey, you've got visitors."

            "I do?" He tried to act surprised and not as though he'd heard the conversation.

            "Yes, sweetie."

            The others came up behind her.

            He looked at them from his puzzle. "Hello, nice to meet you. Who are you?"

            The three of them were dumbstruck. They'd known him for a long time. They were not used to seeing him like this. He looked genuinely happy and at peace, except for a few tears of wetness on his cheek.

            The girl next to him nodded miserably, her own face stained with tears and her hair haggard.

            The woman (well, it was a girl the same age as the blonde princess) asked the blonde, "What's wrong?"

            "All of you made him cry with your yelling," she retorted.

            The man (a boy of about 18) said, "Don't be ridiculous. He never cries. Certainly not over something like that." Then his face fell and he realized that _yes_ his friend had been crying, but he looked quite cheerful now, doing his puzzle.

            The worst reaction (though they were all awful) was from the man who'd first started the shouting. He gasped, "Harry, listen to me. Listen. Do you know who I am?"

            The boy on the bed blinked. "Harry? Are you talking to me?"

            The man's eyes widened and he came toward the bed. He grabbed the boy by his shoulders firmly. "Harry, you've got to know me. I'm your Godfather. It's me. Your old buddy Sirius. Sirius Black. Remember? You saved my life with that hippogriff. Don't you remember? Don't you remember?" He was frantic now.

            Harry (if that was his name) began to cry again. A child's tears.

            "You've upset him!" the princess whispered fiercely, putting her arms around Harry (let's just call him that until we have reason to believe otherwise, okay?).

            The red-haired boy whispered, "He looks like seventeen year old Harry, but he doesn't act like it. Not like seventeen year old Harry. Not like Harry at any age I ever knew him. He's not himself anymore, is he? He's not coming back to us."

            "Don't you dare say that, Ronald! I'm not giving up, so don't you give up. He's still got to be in here somewhere." Harry's princess-girl started to sob.

            "Don't cry. Don't be sad. I'm here."

            Hermione looked on with horror. Renata could deny it all she wanted, but Hermione knew that her best friend would not return to them. Would not be who he once was. But as she looked at him, she knew he was happier now for it. He'd never wanted his role forced upon him, and now it wasn't. "Ron," she said gently, "He's happy now, let's leave him be. Let him rest. Don't you think he deserves it?" Tears were stinging in her eyes.

            Ron turned away, the tears spilling out of his own eyes. "He deserves it more than anyone I know."

            The man, who called himself Sirius Black, had left despondently when he'd made his godchild cry.

            Harry went back to his puzzle in peace, the princess-girl crying quietly by his side.

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The above and below were inspired by my Harry Potter 6 story. In one chapter, after Harry fails to explain the seriousness of the fight against Voldemort, he becomes very frustrated. He is emotionally drained and quite desperate. 

Harry Potter 6, Chapter 59:

"I can't go on like this. I'm trying to teach them and they're missing the point. They don't understand what it's going to come down to in the end. I wish I were them. I wish I didn't know. What's that line again? 'Ignorance is bliss'? I want to forget everything, Luna. I don't want to remember that there's a psycho out there who wants me dead. I don't want to remember that he'll hurt anyone I care about to get to me. I don't want to remember that if he's willing to pay or threaten enough he can get anyone to join him. After all, doesn't everyone have a price?" he asked bitterly. "What was the price he paid to Peter to betray my parents? Or was it fear? The others don't get it, Luna. They don't understand what's going to happen. It's all a game to them. What I did to them this week did nothing to sober them. I'm afraid they're still as reckless as ever and there's _nothing_ I can do about it. Don't you understand? NOTHING."

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Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own him. Drat, somebody told him I don't own him, didn't they? I bet it was you, wasn't it? Now he won't return my phone calls thank you very much.

Is it just me, or was the last part of this chapter really depressing? See, originally that and this were going to be two chapters, but I decided on doing one long chapter (soonest update is the weekend, I'm going away for three days this week, so that's why you get a really longer chapter today).

CHAPTER 37: Part II: The Reawakening 

            Harry was alone when he received another visitor the next day (the lady had sent the princess off to take a shower).

            A woman with red hair came in. "How are you, dear?" She embraced him.

            "Are you my mum?" he asked with interest. So far he'd gotten visits from friends and a godfather, but no parents yet. Nobody would have had the heart to tell him the truth, had he asked, but it never occurred to him that he might not have parents, so he didn't ask.

            Mrs. Weasley (he didn't know this was her name and not having looked in the mirror since the incident, had no idea that they looked nothing alike) starting crying and hugging him more.

            He wondered if this meant he'd finally gotten something right and this was his mother and she weeping with joy that her son had her memory back.

            Mrs. Weasley seemed torn as to what to tell him. She'd felt as though he were her son (and treated him that way) from the beginning. He had no recollection now of those horrible Muggle relatives that had raised him. She could take him home now and pretend forever that he was her son. Forever. But would it be fair to him, to lie to him? The boy had the heart of a Weasley and was practically a member of the family already anyway. Scratch that. He _was_ a member of the family. She only wished she knew how to answer him now.

            "You're like a son to me."

            "Like a son. Am I your nephew? Yes, I'm your nephew then." He smiled. It felt so good to figure things out!

            She couldn't, she wouldn't, and she didn't tell him the truth. She just bit her lip and whispered, "Yes. That's right."

            "Is this my house? I haven't really left this room since I woke up. The bathroom's right there, you know," he said knowledgably, pointing at a nearby door. 

            If only she could keep him from asking questions! "I brought you a new sweater, and some minced pies."

            "Thank you very much," he said politely. He put the sweater on over his clean pajamas. The sweater was obviously hand-knitted and it was black with a big, green H on it.

            She sat by his bed while he ate his pies and then helped him with a puzzle. She started talking to the lady (who had by now returned from whatever errand she'd been on) and Harry listened to the conversation while he did the puzzle. It had a pretty white cat on it. "Why aren't the two of them here? I assumed they'd be like her and not leave his side."

            "It was the hardest decision they ever made. They're afraid that if they come around him too often, he'll remember. She didn't agree with decision and said they could do as they pleased but she wouldn't abandon him. She's so worried because she's been with him night and day and he doesn't recall her at all."

            "What's wrong with remembering? Doesn't he deserve to have his life back?"

            "Poppy, look at him. Think about his life. Nobody deserves to be cursed enough so that they remember _that_ if they've finally managed to forget it. Would you want his life? Think about everything he's forgotten. Look at him now. Look at how happy he seems. Do you want to take that happiness away from him?"

            "No. He deserves to be happy, Molly. If anybody deserves it, he does." The lady sighed.

            Harry looked up at them. Why were people always so sad around him? What had happened that was so terrible? Harry saw that his visitor was leaving. What had the lady said her name was? "Where are you going, Aunt Molly?"

            "Home. I'll be back again. Don't you worry."

            That night, Harry had a bad dream. Bad men were chasing the man who said he was his godfather. Harry didn't know how he knew they were bad, but he knew. He woke up whimpering. He saw the princess still by his beside in the chair and squeezed her hand, knowing then that it was only a dream and everything would be fine. He went back to sleep. When he woke again, he'd forgotten the dream.

            Over the next 3 days, Harry got more visitors. There was a man with a silly looking lime-green hat. An old woman came wearing her hair in a bun on the back of her head, she looked extremely sad as though something (or someone?) was lost forever. A man with dark hair and a hooked nose came to see him. This man looked on him with great pity, but said no words before leaving. A round-faced boy, accompanied by a lady with a vulture-topped hat (the hat scared Harry), and a redheaded girl came together. There was a man with a lined face and brown hair that was going gray. They all looked so familiar to him, but the past was beyond the reach of his mind.

            Over those 3 days, the Sirius man and Aunt Molly returned several times. Harry heard them complaining to the lady.

            "His body is as fit as ever. He doesn't need to stay here," Sirius argued.

            "His mind will never be the same," the lady said. "We don't know if it's safe to leave him alone."

            "I'd stay with him every minute of the day then!"

            "Be reasonable, Sirius."

            "I am. That's my godson and I love him too much to see him cooped up like this." Sirius had never been one to deal well inside any sort of cage or prison.

            "Would you rather him happy or not?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "I mean, what if living with you brought back all those memories. He's happy now. Don't you see that? What if it all came flooding back to him? The shock might kill him even."

            He was silent.

            Aunt Molly started talking, "But couldn't he stay with me? Arthur and I have room for him and we love him dearly. Just as dearly as Sirius does. I'm sure he must be bored of this place. Really, Poppy. We need to take him home." There was pain in his voice.

            "There's no good solution to this, Molly. None that any of us can see and I've talked it over with everyone. There's options, but none of them…" she sighed. "We could set him up as a Muggle, living quietly somewhere; but there are still people who want to hurt him and he's in no condition to take care of himself. He doesn't even know they want to hurt him. We could let him stay with a loved one, one of you, but what's the point? He'd still be vulnerable and not the same person you knew and you'd be frustrated and he needs proper care." She looked fondly at the boy. Seven years and seeing a person through illness and injury could make you become very attached and somewhat over protective, but even Dumbledore had agreed that it wouldn't be good to send the boy away. "We could bring him back to Hogwarts, but what good would that do? To keep him in the hospital wing and have the other children come stare at him? No. I will not do that to him."

            "He wins and still he can't enjoy life," Sirius said softly. "Come on, Molly. We'll be back again tomorrow, Poppy." He walked over to the bed. "Goodbye, Harry. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

            "Okay."

            Mrs. Weasley came over and hugged him. "Goodbye, sweetie."

            "Goodbye, Aunt Molly."

            As Sirius and Molly walked away, Sirius whispered, "Explain to me this 'aunt' business again?"

            The day after that, a new visitor came. Harry was lying down in his bed and whoever had come in was very short, so Harry couldn't see them. The visitor had a squeaky voice.

            "Mister Harry Potter, sir!"

            _Potter_, he thought. _Must be me. All the other people who come visit call me Harry._ As it happened, no one was there at the moment besides himself and this new arrival. Almost every single person that had visited him so far was now a few rooms away, holding a discussion with the lady and the princess. Harry hadn't bothered to find out their names (the lady and princess), after all, he knew who they were, so what did names matter?

            "Dobby has come to see you, sir!"

            _What's a Dobby_? he thought to himself. "That's nice."

            The visitor was like nothing Harry ever remembered seeing before and he came into just as he said, "Harry Potter, sir, I've brought you your wand." He bowed and presented a wooden rod Harry, just as all Harry's other visitors came in the room and gasped.

            "He's not to have that!"

            "What you done, you stupid elf?"

            "Dobby!"

            Harry didn't hear these things. The word was echoing in his mind, whispering to him, "Wand". He stared at it.

            It was with sudden clarity that the world came rushing back to him. He suddenly realized that if this is what he was remembering, he wanted to forget again very quickly. He wanted to pull the pillow over his face and cry while someone hugged him comfortingly. But looking at all those faces, how could he just forget?

            He knew who each and every one of them was now. Even that bumbling, idiot of a Minister, Fudge was there. Renata stood in tears. His princess was crying. Ron and Hermione were staring at him. In fact everyone was staring at him. There was uncertainty and sadness in their eyes. He couldn't forget now. Even that grease-ball Snape looked anxious for him.

            Harry also remembered his past. His parents were dead. Mrs. Weasley was not his mother, or even his aunt, as much as she wished she could be. It was Madam Pomfrey who'd been tending him these past days. Neville stood there with his arm around Ginny. Harry knew them all. Remus Lupin, his face as haggard as ever.

            Harry also remembered with crystalline perfection, the battle. He'd fought with Voldemort, throwing everything into that Stunning spell before he passed out.

            Harry smiled weakly, "Hey, everybody, you all look just a tad worried right about now. Did you know that?"

            They stood stock-still. Not daring to believe.

            He tried again, "Er, Professor Snape, you're not here to collect my homework are you? 'Cause I just don't have it at the moment."

            Harry almost swore that he saw Snape grin, but he couldn't be sure because Renata, crying harder than ever now, had launched herself at the bed, and flung her arms around him. She was soon joined by Hermione and Ginny both slipping out of Ron and Neville's arms and jumping on the bed next to Harry (both half lying across his lap to get his arms around him).

            Neville said weakly, "Ron, mate, looks like we've been replaced."

            "Yeah, I think so." He was just about in tears too. Then again, it seemed everybody (except maybe Fudge and Snape) were crying now.

            Neville and Ron made their way over and hugged him too. McGonagall got in too, and Sirius and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be left out. Remus Lupin stood behind to pat him on the back (there was no free space left to hug him just yet), and Madam Pomfrey stood on his other side. Ron reached down with one hand and pulled Dobby up on top of the pile of people. Snape and Fudge hung back. Harry had history with these two and they didn't think he'd appreciate their ruining his moment of happiness and reunion with the ones he cared about. Instead, Snape did something nice for Harry, something he'd deny later when the picture mysteriously came to Harry, he stood there and took a picture of the happy mob that was on, over, and around the hospital bed. Harry's face only just showing and beaming with happiness and at least as many tears as anyone else.

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Thanks. I hope you review and keep reading! 

Story still not done yet. There's more, and I think it gets better. Oddly, enough I'm not ahead of myself anymore. Oh well. Review please, it'll make me feel better that I've been neglecting all 4 of my other fics in progress to work on this one.****


	38. The Report

**Disclaimer:** I only own Renata, and these days she has a life of her own anyway.

**Author's Note:** It's been two years and five months. I close to gave up on this story. But, I made a decision. This will be done before the real seventh book comes out. So, ta-da! A chapter!

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**CHAPTER 38: The Report**

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Cornelius Fudge left shortly after congratulating Harry on his victory and his recovery. No one was really sure just why he had bothered to show up anyway—he wasn't the current Minister and harbored no genuine liking for Harry. Snape had to get back to the school promptly and left before he could say a word to Harry (or before Harry say another word to him). Odd as it seemed, with McGonagall present at the hospital wing, Snape was the highest ranking individual more or less at Hogwarts. Harry was left with Madam Pomfrey, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Remus Lupin, McGonagall, Neville's grandmother, Ginny, Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Renata for company.

After nearly a half-hour of "we were so worried about you" and "it's so good to have you back" from just about everyone, Harry requested some time alone with the ones who had been there with him at Hogsmeade three weeks before. He needed to know exactly what had had happened. Ginny didn't like being the only student present who was left out, but Harry explained as gently as he could that he really needed to discuss the last night and the Hogsmeade day for his own piece of mind.

She nodded in understanding and left. She hadn't been there. It wasn't her place. As much as she wished it were, it wasn't her place now either.

"What exactly happened?" he asked quietly.

"Where do we start?" Renata asked weakly.

"Start with the beginning," Harry said. "And don't leave anything out."

"Well—"

"Wait, just how long exactly have I been out of it?"

"You were unconscious for two weeks, and you woke up, five weeks ago," Renata said, counting off the days on here fingers.

"If I may continue? Well, we knew leaving you alone was a bad idea. Leaving you by yourself just isn't safe—"

"Not to mention, there was still the promise to Sirius of course," added Renata.

Hermione shot her a look "Can I finish?"

"Sorry."

"So we tracked you down more or less simply and convinced you to let us follow you. After that, you had us hide under the invisibility cloak—"

"I know all that. Start with when we approached the Death Eaters," Harry said impatiently.

"You were the one who said not to leave anything out," pointed out Hermione.

Neville picked up the thread of the story. "Recognizing that cone of silence that got put up, Hermione had the idea for all of us to create that force field around you two. Thought it might confuse somebody on the other side for at least a little bit of a stall. We held it up as long as we could. But it was a powerful spell. It took a lot of energy out of us, and eventually we couldn't hold it up anymore. The Death Eaters started realizing something was wrong right about then and tried to fight back against it."

"While Neville, Hermione, and Renata held up the force field for a little while longer, I muted Voldemort and stuck his feet to the floor," Ron said.

"Then I summoned his wand," said Renata.

"Neville took that first hit for you after our purple wall fell," Ron said quietly. "Stitched his mouth up so he couldn't talk at all. When we tried to start to take the thread out afterward, his lips started bleeding horribly."

Harry looked at Neville.

"The Healers stopped the bleeding when they got there. When we got here, they managed to get rid of the holes and the scars on my lips," Neville muttered. "Hermione took a worse hit than me. The second spell they tried to shoot at you was some sort of parasite. A worm that crawled under her skin and was heading for her heart."

Harry's eyes shot toward her in alarm. He opened his mouth to say something.

"I'm alright now though, Harry," said Hermione, quickly.

"I got hit by one of _your_ stunning spells, Harry," Renata said. "Then a Death Eater tripped over me. He fell on me while I was unconscious and my leg broke. He was a heavy guy too. I couldn't get up. All I could do was become visible again when I regained consciousness and wait to be found."

"Oh no," Harry said. "I can't believe I did that. Are you all right? I should have watched where I was aiming, I should have—"

"You shouldn't have anything, Harry. You had your hands more than full."

"What about you, Ron? What happened to you?" he asked fearfully.

"I helped you shoot stunning spells and some impediment spells too. We all did what we could, for as long as we could. I got nabbed by a stray hex. I don't know whose it was. Just a Stunner."

"What happened after I blacked out?" asked Harry. "All I remember is this bumblebee. It was buzzing around me and then it got his by the killing curse and…" He stopped dead. "Where's Dumbledore? Is Dumbledore okay?"

They looked at each other, no one wanting to speak.

Harry's voice grew hoarse. "He didn't make it, did he? He was the fifth one. The one who didn't survive."

"He said being dead isn't all that bad," Ron offered.

Harry glared at him, ready to punch his best friend. "That's not funny, Ron!"

"Harry, Dumbledore's a ghost. He said he's not sticking around forever like Nick and Myrtle and the others. Just long enough, but he won't tell us what that means," explained Hermione.

"We think it means he wants to talk to you," Ron explained.

"He died because of me. I can't talk to him. What would I say?"

"You could always go with 'thank you'," offered Neville kindly.

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The adults didn't give them much more time to talk. What everyone—except Harry—was in agreement of was that he need rest and relaxation.

He tried not to roll his eyes, but he whispered to Ron. "Rest? What do they think I've been doing for almost three weeks now?"

Ron shrugged. "Beats me. But hey, you could always study for your NEWTs."

Harry glared at him and opened his mouth.

"Kidding. They've been canceled. And no one would expect you to take them now anyway."

Even Renata was forced to Floo back to Hogwarts and get some rest at last. They were to go to Hagrid's old home if they chose to avoid the student population. Only Madam Pomfrey, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Remus, and McGonagall stayed. They all still looked somewhat anxious, as though they expected him to forget them again at any moment.

Harry waited. What did he want to ask? Where was he going to go? No one said anything.

Finally, Sirius asked, "How do you feel, Harry?"

What kind of question was that? "I don't know. Glad to be back…I guess. But not particularly happy, even though I know things mostly worked out."

"So I guess you're ready to go out and round up the rest of the Death Eaters right? Moody's waiting out in the hall with Tonks and Kingsley."

Had anyone _other_ than Sirius addressed him in that tone of voice, Harry would have been sure they were entirely serious. Instead Harry just cocked an eyebrow and said, "Sure, and while I'm at it, you call the Muggle Prime Minister and let him know that I'll be stopping by shortly to see what I can do about getting global cooperation to end world hunger."

"Hey, when you're on a roll…" Sirius said.

McGonagall looked severely at Sirius as though he was fourteen again and she had just caught him about to put spiders in Snape's hair.

"You're not feeling lightheaded or anything, are you?" asked Molly, ignoring both McGonagall and Sirius.

"No, that was only earlier this week, when I first woke up. I'm all right. Really. When can I get out of here? Wherever I am."

"You're in St. Mungo's. A private room in the permanent residence ward," Madam Pomfrey informed him.

"Oh." Not an answer he was completely surprised to hear, but a little startled all the same. Permanent residence? They really hadn't had any hope of his recovery. "You still didn't answer my first question."

"Physically you are fine, but we were thinking, maybe you don't want to go back to Hogwarts for what's left of the year. Too many prying peers and pressures."

"There's not much of the year left, right?" Harry asked cautiously. He desperately wanted to get away from St. Mungo's. It very hospital-y and while it may have been a good environment health wise—no distractions or busybody reporters—it wasn't comfortable. It felt entirely to sterile and secluded. He just wanted to be _home_—Hogwarts.

"It's May 17th."

"You've a little more than a month left"

"The Last Battle was on the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year, at the end of April. Then, you remained unconscious for two weeks, and you awoke five days ago."

"I want to go back to school," he decided.

"Go back?"

"Why?"

Harry looked calmly at Professor McGonagall and the other adults. "I want to leave school with the rest of my class—_at the end of term_." He thought_ At least let me do _something_ normal for once._

"NEWTs have been canceled. You aren't missing them by continuing to stay here or by going home."

"I want to go back. Hogwarts _is_ home. How soon can I go?" he insisted.

The adults all looked at Poppy. "A week."

He shook his head. What was he supposed to do here for a week? It was quite simply a stupid idea. "A week? You said I was physically fine."

"Your wounds have healed, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep you for observation for another week to make sure you really are all right," she countered.

A brief silence settled over the room.

"Who's watching Hogwarts?" Harry directed the question at the Hogwarts nurse.

"I'm not sure I understand your question…"

"The way I understand it, you've been taking care of me here at St. Mungo's for the last three weeks almost."

She interrupted, "It's often best that in a complicated case—if at all possible—the Healer who has had the most experience with the patient continue work with him or her. I have seen you through many strange injuries and a fair amount of illness. No one was quite sure what happened to you on that field. I'm here because I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yes, but my question is, while you've been here, who has been taking care of the students at Hogwarts?"

"They've had several Healers in, temporarily. They've changed them out every two days or so."

"Because they have families and they need to take care of them. Am I right? Your children are all the students at Hogwarts and that's where you're supposed to be: taking care of them."

Harry had made a good point.

Still, the adults hesitated against him. Lupin and Sirius were the only ones who seemed like they might just vie in his favor.

"What if…" An idea struck him. "What if I spent another night here, and then stayed in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts for another two days."

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and crossed her arms. "Three days is not a compatible deal against a week's bed-rest in a hospital."

Inspiration hit. "What about two days here, and three days in the hospital wing at Hogwarts?"  
"Why are you so determined to go back? The media will be hounding you like mad," Molly said.

"What if—after the hospital wing—Ron and Hermione and Renata and Neville and I used Hagrid's house instead of going up to Gryffindor Tower? At least for a while?"

"What good would that serve?"

"To keep us out of everyone's faces," he said simply.

The adults held a brief powwow. They were willing to approve the first part, but they held their reservations on the second part. Once that was settled, McGonagall said that her place was among her students and, wishing Harry all the best, went back to Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey indicated that now that Harry was recovering, she had paperwork to tend to in the other room and it was time for his remaining guests to leave.

Mrs. Weasley said her goodbyes to Harry and left him alone to say goodbye to Sirius and Remus. Rather than getting ready to leave (after all, with Molly and Poppy both out of the room there was no one left to pester them) Sirius and Remus settled down into chairs next to Harry's bed.

Harry sat up comfortably, reclined against his pillows. "What's the atmosphere like outside this room these days?"

"Mostly happy. The final battle only had three deaths. People on our side had expected some sort of large scale, army against army battle."

"Three?" Harry asked. There was Voldemort gone, and Dumbledore, and then he himself had survived. His friends had survived and he was sure they hadn't thrown any killing curses. So… "Does everybody out there think I'm dead?"

Sirius blinked.

"No, Harry. They know you're alive, though beyond knowing that, they know nothing about where you are, we hope. If they know, then I don't doubt that reporters will be waiting outside when you leave St. Mungo's."

Harry frowned at Remus. "That still doesn't answer my question. Who's the third?"

Remus and Sirius looked uneasily at each other.

"Well?"

"It's Peter. Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said at last.


End file.
